Louis A. Merrilat
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| Date of birth | June 9, 1892 |
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| Date of death | April 1948 (aged 55) |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | End |
| College | Army |
Louis Alfred "Merry" Merrilat, Jr. (June 9, 1892 – April 26, 1948) was an American football end and military officer. He played college football with Army and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1913 and 1914. He was wounded in battle while serving in France during World War I and later played in the National Football League for the Canton Bulldogs in the 1925 NFL season. He became a soldier of fortune, training Iran's Persian Guard, working with the Chinese Army in the 1930s, and serving in the French Foreign Legion.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Merrilat was a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, from June 1911 to June 1915. While serving as a cadet, Merrilat was an all-around athlete, competing for Army in football, baseball, basketball and track. He gained fame as an end for the Army Black Knights football team and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1913 and 1914. The passing team of "Prichard to Merrilat" was one of the first great passing combinations in college football, and Merrilat was noted for playing "the western game, something which had not been seen before in the east." Merrilat's teammates on the Army football teams included two of the leading generals of World War II – Omar Bradley, who played at the opposite end position from Merrilat, and Dwight Eisenhower, who played halfback until a leg injury sidelined him.
In 1913, he helped the Army defeat a Navy team that allowed only seven points in its other games. Army defeated Navy 22 to 9, as Merrilat scored 18 points on two touchdown passes and a 60-yard run.
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