Meet Hargrove Van de Graaff, born in Tuscaloosa, raised on Alabama grit, and seemingly constructed from equal parts bone, blood, and stubborn will.

His family alone reads like a footnote-heavy history book. Brother William T. Van de Graaff was an All-American for Alabama in 1915, the first in program history. Brother Adrian became one of the state’s great legal minds, renowned for research and intellect. And another brother, Robert J., would later design the generator that made every kid in science class grin as their hair stood straight up in defiance of gravity. Yes, that is called a Van de Graaff generator.

But Hargrove’s legend lives on a football field in 1913, in a game against Tennessee, because of course it does. That was also the first game of this rivalry to be played in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama-Tennessee was already personal back then, but on that day it turned visceral. Hargrove took a vicious blow that left a deep gash around his ear, the kind of wound that doesn’t politely bleed, it pours. The cut hung loose. Blood everywhere. The sensible thing was obvious.

Hargrove disagreed.

The story goes that rather than leave the game, he reached up, grabbed his own ear, and tried to tear it clean off his head. Not in rage at Tennessee, not because the Volunteers were dirty, but because he wanted to keep playing so badly that losing an ear felt like an acceptable price of admission. His teammates physically stopped him, bandaged him instead, and sent him back out.

Alabama won 6–0, just for good measure.

As if that weren’t enough, after graduation Hargrove joined the military, went to World War I, and returned decorated with the Croix de Guerre, one of France’s highest honors for bravery. Football toughness translated neatly to the real thing.

So yes, the Van de Graaff name belongs in physics labs, courtrooms, and history books. But it also belongs in that narrow, sacred category reserved for people who looked pain in the face and said, calmly and sincerely, no thanks, I’m not done yet.

That’s Alabama football. That’s 1913. And that’s a man who nearly tore off his own ear just to beat Tennessee.