Joe Earnst became a household name on the gridiron during the Tigers’ magical run to their first state football championship in 1945. Ernst earned three varsity letters in football and was named First Team All-State and All-Prep Quarterback in 1945. He was also named All-Southern honorable mention following his senior season. The Ernst legend gained momentum when he engineered a thrilling 19-point comeback versus Istrouma in the South Louisiana Championship game (semifinals) at City Park, tossing four scoring passes in a game widely considered to be “the most thrilling game ever played in the city.” The Tigers would go on to beat Fair Park of Shreveport 31-13 in the state championship game finishing the season 9-0-1. He went on to play quarterback at Tulane earning varsity letters in 1948-49-50. Ernst help lead the Green Wave to a 22-5-2 record in his three seasons. He re-wrote the school record book with his season best 990 yards passing in 1950—a record that stood for 19 seasons. In his career Joe attempted the most passes (339); completed the most (175) and gained the most yards through the air (2,374) and threw the most TD passes (18). The apex of his three-year stint for the Green Wave came in his senior year against Navy when he connected on 18-of-32 passes for a school record 292 yards in a 27-0 Tulane win. Following the 1950 season Ernst was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 15th round of 1951 NFL Draft. He was inducted into the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.

*awarded posthumously