 Ellison in 2007 | |||||||||
| No. 35, 50 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1960-08-15)15 August 1960 (age 64) Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Amphitheater (Tucson, Arizona, U.S.) | ||||||||
| College: | USC | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1983: 5th round, 117th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Riki Morgan Ellison (born 15 August 1960) is aNew Zealand-American former professional player ofAmerican football who was alinebacker for ten seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He was known asRiki Gray while playingcollege football for theUSC Trojans, earningall-conference honors in thePac-10 in 1982. He is the first New Zealander to play in the NFL and the first New Zealander to win a Super Bowl. Ellison is also the founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance and the Youth Impact Program.
Ellison played for the Amphitheater Panthers in Tucson, Arizona, where he won a State Championship in 1975.[1] Ellison was the first All American at Amphitheater High School, and in 1977, he won Arizona Player of the Year.[citation needed] Ellison's jersey number, 35, has since been retired. Ellison is also a member of thePima County Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
Ellison was part of aUSC Trojans team that won twoRose Bowls in 1979 and 1980 and won a National Championship. Ellison was a four-year starter, beginning his Freshman year on the 1978 National Championship team.[2] He graduated from USC with a degree in international relations with a graduate emphasis on defense and strategic studies.[citation needed]
TheNFLSan Francisco 49ers chose him with their fifth-round pick in the1983 NFL draft becoming the first-ever New Zealander andMāori to play in Professional Football. Jerry Attaway, his conditioning coach at USC and (teammate)Ronnie Lott had convincedBill Walsh to select him in the draft. That year, Ellison was named to the All-Rookie Team and the next season named on the All Madden Team and he was an alternate All-Pro at the end of his career with the Raiders. Riki Ellison played in the same defensive backfield alongside Ronnie Lott for 12 seasons at USC, 49ers and Raiders.[3]
Ellison won threeSuper Bowls during his seven years with the 49ers.[4] He was drafted alongside a pair of futurePro Bowlers,running backRoger Craig and centre/guardJesse Sapolu. In his final season with the 49ers in 1989, he broke his right arm in the final preseason game and was placed on the injured reserve list for the season.[5] He played his final three seasons with theLos Angeles Raiders.
Ellison's career included winning 3 Super Bowls, playing in 5 championship games.
In 2017, Ellison was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
In April 2001, Ellison accepted the position of head football coach forT.C. Williams High School inAlexandria, Virginia (the same school featured in the 2000 movieRemember The Titans).[6] Ellison declined to seek renewal of his contract, and resigned in March 2003.[7]
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Ellison is ofMāori descent (Ngāi Tahu), born inChristchurch,New Zealand. At eight, Ellison moved toKuala Lumpur,Malaysia with his father, Dan, who went on to become an economic advisor to theUnited Nations. Shortly thereafter, Ellison's parents divorced and he relocated with his mother toLos Angeles, where she remarried Dennis Gray and moved to Beaver Creek Ranch, Rimrock, Arizona. Ellison went to high school inTucson, Arizona.
The Ellison family comes from a strong sporting background, he is related to professionalrugby playersTamati Ellison andJacob Ellison who both played inSuper Rugby. His grandfatherEdward Ellison played on the 1911 NZ Maori team and was awarded theKing George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935 and was appointed an Officer of theOrder of the British Empire in 1938 for his work as a Doctor in the Pacific.Thomas Ellison, his great-uncle, played for thefirst New Zealand rugby team to play in Great Britain in 1888 and 1889, and captained the first New Zealand team to play in Australia in 1893.[8]
Riki Ellison is married to Heather Ellison. They have four children and six grandchildren. Wesley Ellison Steward, Brooke Ellison Carney, Rhett Ellison and Troy Ellison.Rhett Ellison was the Captain of theUSC football team and was drafted into the NFL playing for 8 years as a tight end for theMinnesota Vikings andNew York Giants.
Ellison and 49ers teammates Lott,Joe Montana, andDwight Clark were backup singers withHuey Lewis and the News on their 1980s singles "Hip to be Square" and "I Know What I Like".[9]
In 2009, NZ On Air made a documentary about Ellison titledThe Defender.[10]
Ellison 's views have softened on the 49ers, with whom he played from 1983 to '89 and earned three Super Bowl rings.
Media related toRiki Ellison at Wikimedia Commons