Ernest Marshall Sprague (October 20, 1865 – May 10, 1938) was an American football player, public official, and engineer. He was born in 1865 on a farm at Farmington, Michigan. He was the son of Lorenzo Sprague and Laura G. (Meade) Sprague. He enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played college football as a rusher for the 1886 Michigan Wolverines football team and as a left guard for the 1887 team. After graduating from Michigan in 1888, Sprague was an engineer with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. He remained in that position until 1895. He next worked for the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad as a general inspector from approximately 1895 to 1897. His next position was with the Detroit Bridge & Iron Works. He moved to Denver, Colorado, as a representative of the Gil