Earnest Lee Holmes was an American professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League for seven seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
16 Facts About Ernie Holmes
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Ernie Holmes spent all but one season of his career in Pittsburgh, retiring in 1978 after a stint with the New England Patriots.
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Ernie Holmes was born in Jamestown, Texas, and was raised on his family's farm, attending school in Wiergate Ernie Holmes played college football at Texas Southern University.
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Ernie Holmes was selected by Pittsburgh Steelers in the eighth round of the 1971 NFL draft.
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Ernie Holmes was part of the legendary Steel Curtain defense along with fellow linemen Joe Greene, Dwight White, and L C Greenwood.
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Ernie Holmes was intensely fierce on the playing field and was often characterized as the most feared man on the Steelers defense.
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Ernie Holmes was charged with shooting at a Highway Patrol heli-pilot.
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Ernie Holmes was found in a field near his abandoned car in Goshen Township, Mahoning County, Ohio.
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Ernie 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.
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Ernie Holmes played three games for the New England Patriots that season before retiring.
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Ernie Holmes made one film appearance in 1985's Fright Night as a bouncer killed by Chris Sarandon's vampire character.
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Until his death, Ernie Holmes lived in Texas on a ranch near Wiergate, a small town with a population of 461 near the Louisiana border, where he had his own church and was an ordained minister.
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Ernie Holmes died in a one-car accident near Beaumont, Texas on the night of January 17,2008.
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Ernie Holmes was driving alone when his car left the road and rolled several times, about 80 miles from Houston, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety dispatcher.
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Ernie Holmes was thrown from his car and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
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Ernie Holmes was buried at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Jamestown, Texas.