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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | St John Ellis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 October 1964 York, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 31 December 2005(2005-12-31) (aged 41) Castleford, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Wing, Fullback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 15 July 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
St John Ellis (3 October 1964 – 31 December 2005), also known by the nickname of"Singe", was an English professionalrugby league footballer andcoach who played primarily as awinger.
Born inYork, Ellis made his professional debut with his hometown clubYork in 1986. He joinedCastleford in 1989, where we won theYorkshire Cup andRegal Trophy. He scored 97 tries in 175 appearances for Castleford, and earned three caps forGreat Britain whilst playing for the club. After a brief spell inAustralia withSouth Queensland Crushers, he returned to England and went on to play forBradford Bulls,Halifax,Keighley Cougars andHunslet before finishing his playing career atDoncaster Dragons. Ellis was appointed head coach at Doncaster in 1999 while still playing for the club, and remained in the role until his death in 2005.
St John Ellis was born inYork on 3 October 1964, his forename was reportedly inspired after his mother saw anews presenter with the same name on television.[6] Ellis was born to a large family; he was one of nine brothers and also had six sisters. He grew up inFulford and attendedFulford School.[7]
Ellis started his career with amateur club Southlands before signing for his hometown professional club,York.[7] He made his debut in December 1986 againstFulham.[4]
Ellis was signed by Castleford in 1989. On 10 December 1989, he scored five tries in a match againstWhitehaven – a joint record at the club for most tries scored in a single game.[8]
Ellis played in Castleford's 11–8 victory overWakefield Trinity in the1990 Yorkshire Cup Final during the1990–91 season atElland Road,Leeds on Sunday 23 September 1990.
Ellis played in Castleford's 12–28 defeat byWigan in the1992 Challenge Cup Final during the1991–92 season atWembley Stadium,London on Saturday 2 May 1992, in front of a crowd of 77,386.[9]
Ellis scored 40 tries in 41 games for Castleford in the1993–94 season, a club record for most tries scored in a single season until it was surpassed byDenny Solomona in 2016.[10] He played in Castleford's 33–2 victory overWigan in the1993–94 Regal Trophy Final atHeadingley,Leeds on Saturday 22 January 1994.[11]
Ellis scored a total of 97 tries in 175 appearances for Castleford, and is a Hall Of Fame inductee at the club.[12]
In 1995, moved to Australia and joined the newly formedSouth Queensland Crushers, playing in their first ever league game againstCanberra Raiders. He made nine appearances for the club during the1995 ARL season before returning to England to joinBradford Bulls. He then joinedHalifax, but made only a handful of appearances before suffering a broken leg.[13] He joinedKeighley Cougars in 1997 before moving toHunslet later that year. Ellis scored his 1,000th career point while playing for Hunslet.[4] His finished his playing career atDoncaster Dragons.
Ellis won threecaps forGreat Britain while at Castleford, appearing as a substitute in both matches againstFrance in 1991, and a further substitute appearance in 1994, also against France.[1] Ellis also represented Great Britain in the 1994Rugby League World Sevens held inSydney,Australia.
Ellis was appointed as head coach atDoncaster Dragons while still playing for the club. He continued to coach the team after his playing career ended, and was the longest-serving coach of any professional club at the time of his death in 2005.[14]
Ellis worked as aplasterer during much of his rugby league career, and later also worked as a salesman.[7] On 31 December 2005, Ellis collapsed after a pre-season training session with Doncaster, and was pronounced dead on arrival atPontefract Hospital. It is believed the cause of death waspulmonary arterial hypertension which is a rare condition that affects about 1 in 1 million people.[15] His funeral was held atYork Minster, and was attended by over 1,000 people.[16] He was survived by his wife, Melanie, and two daughters.[15]