The German Football Association lists Erhardt in the top 20 best German defenders of all time, and Bayern Munich included him in their best 16 in a team made up in the 1980s of famous past players.

Although Erhard did not play in the 1954 World Cup, coach Sepp Herberger toyed with the idea of changing his defense by adding Erhardt as the left back in the final game against Hungary instead of Werner Kohlmeyer, but eventually decided to keep the same line-up as in the semifinal against Austria.

[4] Herberger proved his tactical acumen by moving Erhardt to central defense in early 1958.

In this new stopper role, Erhard proved to be a stand-out for Germany during the 1958 FIFA World Cup and remained Germany's standard stopper until his retirement from international play in September 1962.

This biographical article related to association football in Germany, about a defender born in the 1930s, is a stub.