Ernest Alley

Ernest Hayes "Herc" Alley (June 4, 1904 – August 24, 1971)^[1] was an American college football player, track athlete, and coach. He served as head men's track coach at Vanderbilt University from 1949 to 1971.^[2][3] Alley was also the head football coach at Middle Tennessee State Teachers College—now known as Middle Tennessee State University—in 1939 and at Vanderbilt in 1943, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 6–6–1.^[4]

Ernest Alley

Biographical details
Born	(1904-06-04)June 4, 1904 Tracy City, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	August 24, 1971(1971-08-24) (aged 67) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1926	Tennessee Wesleyan
1927–1928	Tennessee
Position(s)	End
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1929	Tennessee (assistant)
1930	Itta Bena HS (MS)
c. 1932	Philadelphia HS (MS)
1933–1936	Canton HS (MS)
1937–1938	Greenville HS (MS)
1939	Middle Tennessee State Teachers
1940	Vanderbilt (ends)
1943	Vanderbilt
1944–1945	Auburn (assistant)
Baseball
1940	Middle Tennessee State Teachers
Track
1949–1971	Vanderbilt
Head coaching record
Overall	6–6–1 (college football) 77–17–6 (high school football)

A native of Tracy City, Tennessee, Alley attended the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After graduating from Baylor, he went to Tennessee Wesleyan College—now known as Tennessee Wesleyan University—when it operated as a junior college. He captained the football team at Tennessee Wesleyan before moving on to the University of Tennessee, where he played football as an end from 1927 to 1928. Alley remained at Tennessee in the fall of 1929 as an assistant coach before being hired as the head coach at Itta Bena High school in Itta Bena, Mississippi.^[5] He also coached in Philadelphia, Mississippi before a four-year stint coaching at Canton High School in Canton, Mississippi. In 1937, he was appointed head football coach at Greenville High School in Greenville, Mississippi.^[6] In nine years of coaching high school football in Mississippi, Alley led his teams to a combined record of 77–17–6. He also earned a master's degree in physical education from Louisiana State University (LSU) before succeeding Johnny Floyd as coach at Middle Tennessee State Teachers in 1939.^[7] He returned to Vanderbilt as the track coach, a position he held from 1949 to 1971.^[4]

Alley died of cancer, on August 24, 1971, at his home in Nashville, Tennessee.^[8][9][10]

Head coaching record

College football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Middle Tennessee State Teachers Blue Raiders (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1939)
1939	Middle Tennessee State Teachers	1–6–1	1–5–1	T–26th
Middle Tennessee State Teachers:		1–6–1	1–5–1
Vanderbilt Commodores (Southeastern Conference) (1943)
1943	Vanderbilt	5–0	0–0
Vanderbilt:		5–0	0–0
Total:		6–6–1