Always a passionate advocate for his players, Marshall pushed the university administration to raise money for a new athletic facility, and the community rallied behind him. In December 1913, the Journal wrote, “Coach Marshall has done excellent work for Howard, as everyone testifies; coming to us in 1909 when our team needed a strong guiding hand, he soon established our record in football by a string of unbroken victories.”
In his final season as coach in 1916, the Journal reflected on Marshall’s effect on the program: “The greatest asset to the football squad is Coach Marshall. He has certainly done his share in developing a strong and powerful Howard machine … That he has succeeded can easily be attested by the large gate receipts … The men hold him in the greatest esteem, and never refuse to obey his orders or heed his calls.”
Marshall remains the greatest coach in Howard’s history. After stepping down as football coach in 1916, he remained at Howard as a chemistry professor through the 1920-21 academic year. In 1916, one student reflected, “The fact that much of his time must of necessity be spent in the classroom has not in the least caused him to lose a single morning’s practice, or to show any sign of indifference to his pedagogic work,” and asserted that the professor and coach “is doing the work of three men.” The spirit of Marshall’s Exeter education — faithfully adhering to his non sibi principles — is evident in these statements from his students at Howard.
Marshall’s influence extended to other historically Black colleges and universities. He co-founded the Colored Interscholastic Athletic Association, now known as the Central Interscholastic Athletic Association, an NCAA conference member. Marshall was a pioneer for HBCU football, spearheading the growth of Black athletic programs across the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The trophy given to the winner of the football game between Howard and Morehouse College was co-named for Marshall, and the CIAA inducted Marshall into its Hall of Fame in 1985.
The pursuit of his life’s passion to be a physician prompted his move to graduate school at the University of Chicago. He took the requisite courses during the 1921-22 academic year to prepare for admission to Northwestern Medical School, where he completed his degree in 1927.
Marshall overcame significant adversity to become one of Northwestern’s early Black medical school graduates. To pay tuition, he took a job at the Chicago Post Office. The school’s registrar, C.W. Patterson, wrote a letter of concern to the postmaster regarding Marshall’s shift hours stating, “It appears that [Marshall] has been depending on earning a part of his expenses by outside employment … [occupying] his time from 11 o’clock in the evening to 7:30 in the morning. I have told him that it was out of the question to carry the medical course, giving so much time to outside employment.”
The postmaster, however, was unyielding and did not shift Marshall’s hours.
Patterson felt strongly that Marshall should receive the opportunity to continue his studies with a more convenient work schedule: “Mr. Marshall is a high-class colored man, a graduate of the University of Michigan and a graduate student of the University of Chicago. He has made a good beginning with us.” Northwestern eventually hired Marshall as a night guard and as a laborer for campus renovation projects so he could remain a full-time student. He also worked four hours a day at Chicago’s Wesley Memorial Hospital to receive room and board there.
Marshall continued searching for creative ways to pay his tuition. With Patterson’s help, during his third year at the school, he forged a relationship with Julius Rosenwald, the Chicago philanthropist and co-owner of Sears, Roebuck and Co. Rosenwald had supported numerous African American causes, notably, Black education and the growth of Black YMCAs across the country. The registrar wrote to Rosenwald that Marshall “has carried his schoolwork very well under rather serious financial handicaps. … On account of his record I would wish to do everything possible to help him.”
At the time, Marshall was in arrears for the two previous semesters and his future at the school was in peril. Rosenwald came to his aid, covering the two semesters of debt and paying future costs, to which the registrar replied, “I am very glad indeed to learn that Mr. Marshall is to receive this assistance and I have every reason to believe that he is deserving.”
Likewise, Rosenwald’s secretary, William Graves, was happy to learn that Marshall’s studies would not be interrupted: “[He] has been under considerable pressure to support himself, and I [offer] a personal endorsement in addition to what Mr. Rosenwald is advancing.”
When Marshall completed his studies, Graves observed, “Mr. Rosenwald shares the satisfaction … that Mr. Marshall was able to complete his work satisfactorily and to finish the course with his class.”
Shortly after departing Chicago, Marshall wrote an emotional letter of appreciation to Patterson, the Northwestern registrar: “Please let me thank you for the many kind things you did for me while there. Without your help I never could have made it, and I shall ever be grateful to you.”
Marshall spent the following year completing a residency at Kansas City General Hospital in Missouri. He practiced medicine in Kansas City for the rest of his life. Keeping an office as a general practitioner for over 30 years, Marshall was also a member of the staff at Wheatley-Provident Hospital and General Hospital while being active in the Kansas City Medical Society, Missouri Pan-Medical Society and Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically African American fraternity. In addition to being a respected member of Kansas City society, Marshall maintained his enthusiasm for sports and the outdoors until he died in 1959. He was survived by his wife; a son, who also became a physician; and three grandchildren.
Throughout his life, Marshall understood what was important in education, not only to him, but also to students. Shortly before his death, he wrote: “If you learn only what’s in a book, then one school is about as good as another. But when a student comes in contact with [a transformational teacher] he gets something he never forgets and is even thankful for having known such men — they make the [school].”
Marshall’s career as an educator embodied this ideal. As one of his Howard students stated, “The deepest and most profound respect exists between [Coach Marshall] and his men.” This sentiment is akin to that of the Academy’s Deed of Gift, which states, “above all, it is expected that the attention of instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care.”
Marshall stayed intellectually active deep into his life. He maintained a concern for world affairs with an eye toward the future. In 1958 he wrote: “We have come through two major wars, a depression and a police action. How much has been learned — very little I fear except improving the fine art of killing. I wonder where it will end. If world leaders can’t or won’t agree, I fear the great masses of humanity will get out of control and we know what the end will be.” Marshall’s compassion and empathy, developed through his vast experiences, were evident until the very end.
When Marshall died, Eugene Clark, his lifelong friend from Exeter and Williams, wrote: “We will remember Ernest as a great athlete and a fine guy. His successful struggle to get an education without any financial backing revealed his strength of character.”
Indeed, Marshall needed immense strength of character to live an impactful and extraordinary life when racial integration was far from commonplace in America. And he was proud to credit the foundation he received during his time at the Academy.
In a 1958 letter to the Williams Alumni Office, he wrote, “I prepped at Exeter, the greatest in the world.”
Panos Voulgaris is in his third year at Exeter as head football coach and an instructor in physical education. Prior to joining PEA, he led three different football programs to championship seasons and taught history for 15 years. In 2022, he guided Exeter to a 7-1 season, the team’s best record in the last decade.
This story was originally published in the Fall 2023 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.
