:Gerry Ellis
{{Short description|American football player (born 1957)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| number = 31
| position = Running back
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|11|12}}
| birth_place = Columbia, Missouri, U.S.
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lb = 221
| high_school = Hickman (Columbia)
| college = Missouri
| draftyear = 1980
| draftround = 7
| draftpick = 192
| pastteams =
- Los Angeles Rams ({{NFL Year|1980}})*
- Green Bay Packers (1980–{{NFL Year|1986}})
| highlights =
- Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame (1994)
- Second-team All-Big Eight (1979)
| statlabel1 = Rushing yards
| statvalue1 = 3,826
| statlabel2 = Rushing average
| statvalue2 = 4.6
| statlabel3 = Touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 25
| pfr = ElliGe00
}}
Gerry Ellis (born November 12, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1980 NFL draft.{{cite web |title=Gerry Ellis |url=https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2017/09/15/gerry-ellis/553047001/ |website=PackersNews.com |access-date=February 5, 2020}} He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1994.{{cite web |title=Packers Hall of Fame RB Gerry Ellis to join Pack Attack Monday |url=https://waow.com/2019/10/23/packers-hall-of-fame-rb-gerry-ellis-to-join-pack-attack-monday/ |website=WAOW |access-date=February 5, 2020}}
College career
After playing high school football at Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri,{{cite web |last1=Baer |first1=Rus |title=Millard could be first NFL player from Columbia in 21 years |url=https://www.columbiatribune.com/article/20140511/Sports/305119940 |website=Columbia Tribune |access-date=February 19, 2020 |date=May 11, 2014}} Ellis spent his first year post-high school at Fort Scott Junior College.{{cite news |last1=Raboin |first1=Sharon |title=Playing pro football fulfills Gerry Ellis' childhood dream |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45997753/an-article-about-the-life-of-gerry/ |access-date=March 2, 2020 |work=Green Bay Press-Gazette |date=September 7, 1986}} He later played at Missouri, where he started at fullback but was injured midway through his senior year. He returned in time for the 1979 Hall of Fame Classic against South Carolina, where he scored a touchdown.{{cite web |last1=Connelly |first1=Bill |title=1979: A Fleeting Taste of the Big-Time (Part Three) |url=https://www.rockmnation.com/2010/4/30/1448679/1979-a-fleeting-taste-of-the-big |website=Rock M Nation |publisher=SB Nation |access-date=February 19, 2020 |date=April 30, 2010}}
Professional career
Ellis was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round 1980 NFL draft,{{cite web |last1=Watson |first1=Phil |title=Best of the Packers: Top 10 running backs since 1960 |url=https://dairylandexpress.com/2015/07/22/best-of-the-packers-top-10-running-backs-since-1960/5/ |website=Dairyland Express |access-date=February 5, 2020}} but was cut by the team in his first preseason and was claimed by the Green Bay Packers in free agency during the opening stages of the 1980 season.{{cite web |title=Is Bob Schnelker serious about Gerry Ellis, or is... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/01/14/Is-Bob-Schnelker-serious-about-Gerry-Ellis-or-is/6776411368400/ |website=UPI |access-date=February 5, 2020 |date=January 14, 1983}} After rising to starting fullback in the middle of September 1980, Ellis scored his first career NFL touchdown against the Rams. He set Packers single-season team records for total offense by a running back and receiving yards by a running back in 1981, accumulating more than a quarter of Green Bay's total offensive yards.{{cite news |last1=Rooney |first1=John |title=Ellis seeks improvement as a Green Bay runner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45349502/an_article_where_gerry_ellis_talks/ |access-date=February 21, 2020 |work=Manitowoc Herald-Times |date=March 15, 1982}} On September 30, 1984, Ellis caught a lateral from James Lofton as time expired against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, scoring a touchdown and sending the game into overtime. The Packers unfortunately lost the game in overtime.{{cite book |last1=Troup |first1=T.J. |title=This Day in Football: A Day-By-Day Record of the Events That Shaped the Game |date=2009 |publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing |location=Lanham, MD |isbn=978-1-58979-452-8 |page=39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A_7fQMrJyMcC&q=gerry+ellis+rams&pg=PA39 |access-date=February 19, 2020}} After playing at fullback from 1980 to 1983, Ellis moved to running back before 1984. He led the Packers in rushing in both 1983 and 1984,{{cite news |last1=Goska |first1=Eric |title=What's in a number? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46012756/an-article-about-various-packers-jersey/ |access-date=March 2, 2020 |work=Eau Claire Leader-Telegram |date=August 17, 1994}} and returned kicks for the Packers in 1985.{{cite news |last1=Christl |first1=Cliff |title=Ellis gave Packers lift with return |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46012950/an-article-about-gerry-ellis-returning/ |access-date=March 2, 2020 |work=Green Bay Press-Gazette |date=October 14, 1985}}
Before the 1987 season, Ellis was volunteering at a football camp for underserved youth and tore his Achilles tendon while working out, never to step on an NFL field again.{{cite news |title=Packers' Ellis may not play again |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45348584/an_article_about_the_end_of_gerry/ |access-date=February 21, 2020 |work=The Daily Tribune |date=June 7, 1987}}
Ellis was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1994.{{cite news |title=Packer Hall of Fame welcomes three |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/190215220/?terms=gerry%2Bellis |access-date=March 2, 2020 |work=Green Bay Press-Gazette |date=March 12, 1994}}{{Cite web | url = https://www.packers.com/history/hof/gerry-ellis | title = Gerry Ellis | last = Christl | first = Cliff | author-link = Cliff Christl | website = Packers.com | access-date = September 20, 2023 | archive-date = May 31, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230531235645/https://www.packers.com/history/hof/gerry-ellis | url-status = live }}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |
| colspan="2"| Legend |
|---|
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league |
| Bold
| Career high |
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="5"| Rushing ! colspan="5"| Receiving | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |
| 1980 | GNB
| 15 || 13 || 126 || 545 || 4.3 || 22 || 5 || 48 || 496 || 10.3 || 69 || 3 | |||||||||||
| 1981 | GNB
| 16 || 16 || 196 || 860 || 4.4 || 29 || 4 || 65 || 499 || 7.7 || 46 || 3 | |||||||||||
| 1982 | GNB
| 9 || 8 || 62 || 228 || 3.7 || 29 || 1 || 18 || 140 || 7.8 || 20 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1983 | GNB
| 15 || 14 || 141 || 696 || 4.9 || 71 || 4 || 52 || 603 || 11.6 || 56 || 2 | |||||||||||
| 1984 | GNB
| 16 || 16 || 123 || 581 || 4.7 || 50 || 4 || 36 || 312 || 8.7 || 22 || 2 | |||||||||||
| 1985 | GNB
| 16 || 8 || 104 || 571 || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| 5.5 || 39 || 5 || 24 || 206 || 8.6 || 35 || 0 | |||||||||||
| 1986 | GNB
| 16 || 6 || 84 || 345 || 4.1 || 24 || 2 || 24 || 258 || 10.8 || 29 || 0 | |||||||||||
| colspan="2"| | 103 | 81 | 836 | 3,826 | 4.6 | 71 | 25 | 267 | 2,514 | 9.4 | 69 | 10 |
=Playoffs=
Personal life
Ellis grew up in Columbia, Missouri with eight siblings, where he competed in track and field and set Central Missouri Conference records in discus and shot put.{{cite news |last1=Anders |first1=Mike |title=Kewpies capture CMC track title, Jays 2nd |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45218575/an_article_about_the_1975_central/ |access-date=February 19, 2020 |work=Jefferson City Post-Tribune |date=May 2, 1975}} While attending college at the University of Missouri, Ellis majored in education.{{cite news |last1=Kaiser |first1=Jacqueline |title=Packers' Gerry Ellis breaks into backfield |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45346888/an_article_about_gerry_ellis_rise_in/ |access-date=February 21, 2020 |work=La Crosse Tribune |date=October 3, 1980}} He invested in real estate as a side job during his football career.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Los Angeles Rams 1980 draft navbox}}
{{Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Gerry}}
Category:Players of American football from Columbia, Missouri
Category:American football fullbacks
Category:Hickman High School alumni
Category:Missouri Tigers football players