Ernie Holmes
| No. 63 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Date of birth: | July 11, 1948 | ||||||
| Place of birth: | Jamestown, Texas | ||||||
| Date of death: | January 17, 2008 (aged 59) | ||||||
| Place of death: | Beaumont, Texas | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 260 lb (118 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Burkeville, Texas | ||||||
| College: | Texas Southern | ||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1971 / Round: 8 / Pick: 203 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Games: | 84 |
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| Seasons: | 7 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Earnest Lee Holmes (July 11, 1948 – January 17, 2008), also nicknamed "Fats", was an American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played seven seasons from 1972 to 1978 and was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Steelers.
Holmes was born in Jamestown, Texas, and was raised on his family's farm. And he went to school in Burkeville, Texas Holmes played college football at Texas Southern University.
Holmes was selected by Pittsburgh Steelers in the eighth round of the 1971 NFL Draft. He was part of the legendary Steel Curtain defense along with fellow linemen Joe Greene, Dwight White, and L. C. Greenwood. While quarterback sacks were not an official NFL statistic until 1982, the Steelers credit Holmes with a career total of 40, eighth on the franchise's all-time list. This includes team-high totals of 11 in 1974 (including a stretch of six consecutive games with a sack, which ties him with Greene and Greg Lloyd for the longest such streak in team history) and 10.5 in 1975.
"Ernie was one of the toughest players to ever wear a Steelers uniform, at his best, he was an intimidating player who even the toughest of opponents did not want to play against."
He was intensely fierce on the playing field and was often characterized as the most feared man on the Steelers defense.
Holmes played six seasons with the Steelers before being traded due to on-going weight problems in 1978 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he failed to make the team coming out of preseason. He played three games for the New England Patriots in 1978 before retiring.
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