St. John Ellis

St John Ellis (3 October 1964 – 31 December 2005), also known by the nickname of "Singe", was an English professional rugby league footballer and coach who played primarily as a winger.

St John Ellis
Personal information
Full nameSt John Ellis
Born3 October 1964
York, England
Died31 December 2005(2005-12-31) (aged 41)
Castleford, England
Playing information
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1986–89 York 75 32 125 0 378
1989–94 Castleford 173+2 97 17 0 422
1995 South Queensland Crushers 9 1 13 0 30
1995 Bradford Bulls 11+1 5 14 0 48
1996 Halifax 7 1 0 0 4
1997 Keighley Cougars 11 3 0 0 12
1997–98 Hunslet Hawks 42+1 17 117 6 308
1999–02 Doncaster Dragons 17 3 5 0 22
Total 349 159 291 6 1224
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1991–94 Great Britain 0+3 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1999–05 Doncaster Dragons
As of 15 July 2020

Born in York, Ellis made his professional debut with his hometown club York in 1986. He joined Castleford (Heritage № 680) in 1989, where we won the Yorkshire Cup and Regal Trophy. He scored 97 tries in 175 appearances for Castleford, and earned three caps for Great Britain whilst playing for the club. After a brief spell in Australia with South Queensland Crushers, he returned to England and went on to play for Bradford Bulls, Halifax, Keighley Cougars and Hunslet before finishing his playing career at Doncaster 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.

Background

St John Ellis was born in York on 3 October 1964, his forename was reportedly inspired after his mother saw a news 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 in Fulford and attended Fulford School.[7]

Playing career

Early career

Ellis started his career with amateur club Southlands before signing for his hometown professional club, York.[7] He made his debut in December 1986 against Fulham.[4]

Castleford

Ellis was signed by Castleford in 1989. On 10 December 1989, he scored five tries in a match against Whitehaven – a joint record at the club for most tries scored in a single game.[8]

Ellis played in Castleford's 11–8 victory over Wakefield Trinity in the 1990 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1990–91 season at Elland Road, Leeds on Sunday 23 September 1990.

Ellis played in Castleford's 12–28 defeat by Wigan in the 1992 Challenge Cup Final during the 1991–92 season at Wembley 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 the 1993–94 season, a club record for most tries scored in a single season until it was surpassed by Denny Solomona in 2016.[10] He played in Castleford's 33–2 victory over Wigan in the 1993–94 Regal Trophy Final at Headingley, 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]

Later career

In 1995, moved to Australia and joined the newly formed South Queensland Crushers, playing in their first ever league game against Canberra Raiders. He made nine appearances for the club during the 1995 ARL season before returning to England to join Bradford Bulls. He then joined Halifax, but made only a handful of appearances before suffering a broken leg.[13] He joined Keighley Cougars in 1997 before moving to Hunslet later that year. Ellis scored his 1,000th career point while playing for Hunslet.[4] His finished his playing career at Doncaster Dragons.

International honours

Ellis won three caps for Great Britain while at Castleford, appearing as a substitute in both matches against France in 1991, and a further substitute appearance in 1994, also against France.[1]

Coaching career

Ellis was appointed as head coach at Doncaster 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]

Personal life

Ellis worked as a plasterer 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 at Pontefract Hospital.it is believed the cause of death was Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension which is a rare condition that affects approx 1 in 1 million people. [15] His funeral was held at York Minster, and was attended by over 1,000 people.[16] He was survived by his wife, Melanie, and two daughters.[15]

References
  1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. "Coach Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. "Statistics at donsstats.co.uk". donsstats.co.uk. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  4. Fletcher, Raymond (1999). Rothmans Rugby League yearbook 1999. London: Headline. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7472-7572-5.
  5. RL Record Keepers' Club
  6. Hadfield, Dave (4 January 2006). "St John Ellis : Longest-serving rugby league coach". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  7. "Rugby ace dies at 41". York Press. 3 January 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  8. "Records - All Time - Match Records". castigers.com. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  9. "2nd May 1992: Wigan 28 Castleford 12 (Challenge Cup Final)". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  10. "Castleford Tigers 40 Widnes 26: Denny Solomona's record try haul allows Dorn to depart on high". Yorkshire Post. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  11. "Wigan 2 - 33 Castleford". thecastlefordtigers.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  12. "Hall of Fame at castigers.com". castigers. 31 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  13. Hadfield, Dave (19 February 1996). "Rowley rolls Halifax into quarter-final". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  14. Richards, Martin (2 January 2006). "Game left stunned by sudden death of popular coach Ellis". The Times. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  15. "St John Ellis dies". BBC. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  16. Hadfield, Dave (11 January 2006). "McGoldrick contract dispute keeps Castleford guessing". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
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