Hargrove Van de Graaff

Hargrove was born on September 7, 1893 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Circuit Judge Adrian Sebastain Van de Graaff Sr. and Minnie Cherokee Jemison Van de Graaff.[2]

He helped organize sports at Tuscaloosa High School with football, baseball, and track.[3]

Hargrove was an All-Southern end for the Alabama Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama.[4] His brothers Adrian and William also played for Alabama. William, known as "Bully," was Alabama's first All-American. Hargrove was the smallest of the three.[5] Hargrove also played baseball and lettered in track. Robert J. Van de Graaff, the inventor of the Van de Graaff generator which produces high voltages, was another brother.

Following a hard-fought scoreless tie with Georgia Tech in 1911, coach John Heisman declared that he had never seen a player "so thoroughly imbued with the true spirit of football as Hargrove Van de Graaff."[2][5] In a game in 1913 against Tennessee, Hargrove nearly lost an ear and tried to rip it off to avoid leaving the game.[5][6][7]

After graduation, Hargrove followed Adrian into the military.[2] He served in Mexico and in France in the First World War. Hargrove came back with the Croix de Guerre.[5]

• Hargrove Van de Graaff at Find a Grave