Max Hicks was one of several Geneva College players who made it to the professional level in football as a player and a coach.

Max was born November 6, 1892, in Beaver Falls, PA, and attended Beaver Falls High School. Max enrolled at Indiana University of Pennsylvania before transferring to Geneva College, where he played football in 1915.

In 1918, Max joined the U.S. Army and served with the Army Medical Corps at Camp Greenleaf in Georgia. Joining Max were several University of Pittsburgh football players, including guard John Bain "Jock" Sutherland, the future legendary coach for the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was that year that Camp Greenleaf formally sanctioned football and when Sutherland had his first experience coaching football. Camp Greenleaf would win the 1918 Army Cantonment Football Championship. Players from the University of Pittsburgh and Geneva College were on the Camp Greenleaf team that became the undefeated champions, defeating Camp Dix in the championship game 34-0.

The following year, in 1919, Max played semi-pro football for the Cleveland Tigers in the Ohio League. In 1920, Max played a game for the Hammond Pros in the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which became the NFL in 1922. 1920 was the Hammond Pros' inaugural season in the APFA. The Hammond Pros met many challenges with so many players having full-time jobs outside of football and the team did not have a home field, due to limited areas with ample seating capacity. The Hammond Pros played all their games on the road as a traveling team, with a 2-5 record that year.

In 1921, Max served as a player and coach for the Hammond Pros. On November 6, 1921, Max served as the Hammond Pros head coach against future Pro Football Hall of Famer Paddy Driscoll of the Chicago Cardinals (nka the Arizona Cardinals) in a 7-0 loss in Normal Park in Chicago, IL. One week later, November 13, 1921, Max coached against future Pro Football Hall of Famer Curly Lambeau of the Green Bay Packers in a 7-0 loss in Normal Park. During his lone season with the Hammond Pros, Max compiled a record of 1-3-1. He played in one game and was the head coach in all five games.

Edward Francis "Max" Hicks died November 12, 1944, at age 52, in Sawtelle, CA.