Gerald Ellis | Class of '64 | Cross Country and Track & Field

• Captain of men's cross country, indoor track and outdoor track teams in his senior year
• Was a top miler on UMaine outdoor track teams that won three straight Yankee Conference championships 1962-64 and three straight State of Maine collegiate indoor championship over the same time period.
• Helped lead UMaine cross country to the Yankee Conference cross country championship in 1963 by finishing second.

 Jerry Ellis wanted to compete for his high school in rural western Maine some 60 years ago. He didn't have many options. He could run cross country. Period.

"We were a very small school," says Ellis. "We didn't have ball fields."

Ellis won the state high school cross country meet in his freshman and junior years. He was third in his sophomore and senior seasons.

He was one of 18 students in his graduating class at Phillips High School, which no longer exists. The total school enrollment was about 90. Many of his male classmates would work in the woods or in the paper mills after graduation.  Ellis says he didn't have real plans for after high school until an application was dropped on his desk one day. He was told to fill it out.

"It wasn't until later that I realized it was an application to attend the University of Maine," says Ellis. It was the only college application he filled out.

Ellis is a modest man, prone to understatement. He has been a man in motion for much of his long life, but one not noticed until he passed someone and moved ahead.

"Jerry came in to Maine at a time when we competed because we loved to compete," says Guy Whitten, a classmate, teammate, and fraternity brother. "We weren't on scholarships."

Whitten was a hurdler on the Maine teams that won three straight Yankee Conference championships. Whitten nominated Ellis for induction to the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame. "Jerry was an outstanding miler on championship teams," says Whitten. Somehow, Ellis' accomplishments had gone unnoticed as the years went by.

Ask Ellis why running the mile became his passion and there's a long pause. "I don't know if I have a good answer. It's just something I've always enjoyed doing.

"I know people who loved football but hated the idea that their career would end after college. I'm still active."

His running took a back seat to the U.S. Army after graduation. While college students elsewhere started to protest America's involvement in Vietnam, Ellis joined the ROTC at Maine. While in the active Army, he held the rank of Captain, served one tour of duty in Vietnam and earned two Bronze Stars. Ellis was the American advisor to a South Vietnamese army unit whose mission was to encourage South Vietnamese villagers to remain loyal to their government and not turn to the Viet Cong insurgency.

The campaign became known as Hearts and Minds. Ever modest, Ellis explained quickly that his medals were for meritorious service rather than bravery under fire. "I didn't love the Army but I did my job well. I'm proud of that."

That feeling of personal responsibility followed Ellis back to Maine after his discharge from the Army. He returned to campus and was offered a position working with returning military veterans. Ellis had his eye on another position – counselor to first generation and low income students. The more formal name became Educational Opportunity Programs at Maine.

"I grew up in a very poor family," says Ellis. "No one graduated from college before me." Through his own experiences, Ellis understood the challenges to complete four years at the university. He worked 33 years for the university helping non-traditional students see a path to their degree.

Ellis was the first president of the Maine Educational Opportunity Association and became president of the New England EOA.

He never lost his love for running. He was active on Maine's road racing circuit for years until a troublesome left knee forced his feet off the unyielding pavement. He was 50. Cross country skiing and long-distance biking beckoned.

Earlier this summer, Ellis was on his bike near his home in Florida when he and an impatient motorist collided. Ellis suffered a compound leg fracture and broken vertebrae. He also lost a swath of skin and muscle from his forearm. Some five weeks before the Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner, Ellis was still in a brace from his chin to his waist.

"He (the motorist) took my bike riding away from me but I'm still planning on being at the (induction dinner). I don't want to miss that."

After a selfless lifetime of accomplishment and service, the applause and recognition will be appreciated.

-Steve Solloway-

------------

The 2019 UMaine Sports Hall of Fame class will be honored at an induction banquet on Friday, Sept. 13 at Jeff's Catering in Brewer. For more details, click here.