Frederick M. Ellis
File:Frederick M. Ellis.gif | |
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Norwood, Massachusetts | February 26, 1906
Died | July 19, 1967 Burlington, Massachusetts | (aged 61)
Playing career | |
Position(s) | Quarterback |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 25–34–6 (football) 74–75 (basketball) |
Frederick Melvin "Fish" Ellis (February 26, 1906 – July 19, 1967) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, track athlete, athletics coach and administrator, and university professor in the United States. He served as the head football coach at Tufts University from 1946 to 1953, compiling a record of 25–34–6. Ellis was also the head basketball coach at Tufts from 1946 to 1953, tallying a mark of 74–75. He is the namesake of Tufts University's home football field, Ellis Oval.
Early life and playing career
Ellis was born in 1906 in Norwood, Massachusetts. His family moved to Gloucester and then to Medford, where Ellis attended Medford High School, graduating in 1925. He entered Tufts University that fall, majoring in civil engineering.[1] Ellis lettered in four sports—football, basketball, baseball, and track—at Tufts, from which he graduated in 1929. He was the first Tufts student to earn varsity letters in four sports. Ellis played quarterback on the football team from 1926 to 1928, and scored a school-record 181 points. His punt of 76 yards in 1927 was also the longest in Tufts history.
Death, family, and honors
Ellis died of a heart attack at the age of 61 on July 19, 1967 at his home in Burlington, Massachusetts. He was survived by his wife, Dorothea, and couple's two daughters, Faith J54 and Susan J68.[2] The football field at Tufts University was named in his honor as Frederick M. Ellis Oval at homecoming in 1969.[1]
Head coaching record
Football
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tufts Jumbos (Independent) (1946–1953) | |||||||||
1946 | Tufts | 1–6 | |||||||
1947 | Tufts | 5–2 | |||||||
1948 | Tufts | 3–4–1 | |||||||
1949 | Tufts | 5–3–1 | |||||||
1950 | Tufts | 4–4–1 | |||||||
1951 | Tufts | 0–7–2 | |||||||
1952 | Tufts | 3–4–1 | |||||||
1953 | Tufts | 4–3 | |||||||
Tufts: | 25–34–6 | ||||||||
Total: | 25–34–6 | ||||||||
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References
- ^ a b "'Fish' Ellis: all-time Tufts athletic great". Tufts Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- ^ "Prof. Frederick Ellis Dies; Set Football Marks at Tufts". The New York Times. July 20, 1967. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
- 1906 births
- 1967 deaths
- American football quarterbacks
- Tufts Jumbos baseball players
- Tufts Jumbos football coaches
- Tufts Jumbos football players
- College athletic directors in the United States
- College men's basketball coaches in the United States
- College golf coaches in the United States
- College track and field athletes in the United States
- High school basketball coaches in the United States
- High school football coaches in the United States
- Tufts University faculty
- American military personnel of World War II
- United States Army Air Forces officers
- People from Burlington, Massachusetts
- People from Gloucester, Massachusetts
- People from Medford, Massachusetts
- People from Norwood, Massachusetts
- Players of American football from Massachusetts