# Ron Ellis

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{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey player (1945–2024)}}
{{about|the ice hockey player}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| played_for = [Toronto Maple Leafs](/source/Toronto_Maple_Leafs)
|image=RonEllis.png
| position = [Right wing](/source/Winger_(ice_hockey))
| shoots = Right
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 9
| weight_lb = 195 
| ntl_team = CAN
| birth_date = {{birth date|1945|1|8}}
| birth_place = [Lindsay, Ontario](/source/Lindsay%2C_Ontario), Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|5|11|1945|1|8}}
| death_place = [Belleville, Ontario](/source/Belleville%2C_Ontario), Canada
| career_start = 1963
| career_end = 1981
}}

'''Ronald John Edward Ellis''' (January 8, 1945 – May 11, 2024) was a Canadian professional [ice hockey](/source/ice_hockey) player. Ellis played 16 seasons in the [National Hockey League](/source/National_Hockey_League) for the [Toronto Maple Leafs](/source/Toronto_Maple_Leafs). Ellis won the [Stanley Cup](/source/Stanley_Cup) in [1967](/source/1967_Stanley_Cup_Final), and took part in the famed 1972 [Summit Series](/source/Summit_Series) against the Russian National team. After retiring, Ellis went into business and later joined the staff of the [Hockey Hall of Fame](/source/Hockey_Hall_of_Fame).<ref name="cbc-cp2024">{{cite news |title=Ron Ellis, member of last Maple Leafs team to win Stanley Cup, dead at 79 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/ron-ellis-dead-at-79-1.7201746 |access-date=12 May 2024 |agency=The Canadian Press |publisher=CBC Sports |date=11 May 2024}}</ref>

==Playing career==
Ellis was signed by the Leafs and played junior hockey with the [Toronto Marlboros](/source/Toronto_Marlboros) of the [Ontario Hockey Association](/source/Ontario_Hockey_Association) from 1961–1964. He played on the team that won the [Memorial Cup](/source/Memorial_Cup) in 1964.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} Ellis became a full-time Leaf in [1964–65](/source/1964%E2%80%9365_NHL_season) and played 11 seasons to [1974–75](/source/1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season), winning the [Stanley Cup](/source/Stanley_Cup) in 1967.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Ellis was also a member of [Team Canada](/source/Canada_men's_national_ice_hockey_team) at the 1972 [Summit Series](/source/Summit_Series), one of [only seven Canadians](/source/Summit_Series) to play every game in the series, and part of the only line to play together for every game, with centre [Bobby Clarke](/source/Bobby_Clarke) and left winger [Paul Henderson](/source/Paul_Henderson).<ref name="cbc-cp2024"/>

Ellis retired at age 30 during Leafs training camp in 1975, coming off the most productive season of his career with 61 points.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} He said he no longer had the desire to play and denied that his decision had anything to do with being passed over as team captain in favour of [Darryl Sittler](/source/Darryl_Sittler) a month earlier.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In 1977, Ellis came out of retirement to play for Canada at the [world hockey championships](/source/Ice_Hockey_World_Championships) and then decided to resume his NHL career with the Leafs in [1977–78](/source/1977%E2%80%9378_NHL_season).<ref name="cbc-cp2024"/>

[Punch Imlach](/source/Punch_Imlach) was hired as [general manager](/source/List_of_current_NHL_general_managers) of the Leafs for the [1979–80 season](/source/1979%E2%80%9380_NHL_season) and didn't feel that Ellis was worth the money he was being paid. He offered to buy out Ellis's contract at the end of the season, but the two couldn't reach an agreement. Despite objections from new coach [Mike Nykoluk](/source/Mike_Nykoluk), Imlach put Ellis on waivers during the [1980–81](/source/1980%E2%80%9381_NHL_season) season and gave him an ultimatum: retire or be sent to the minor leagues. The 36-year-old Ellis chose to retire. He had played 1,034 career NHL games scoring 332 goals and 308 assists for 640 points, making him one of five Maple Leafs to appear in more than 1,000 games for the club, and placing him fifth on the team's list of goal-scorers.<ref name="cbc-cp2024"/>

==Post-playing career==
After his life in hockey, worked as a teacher and in insurance. For six years, Ellis ran his own sporting goods store. In 1993, he joined the [Hockey Hall of Fame](/source/Hockey_Hall_of_Fame) as a director of public affairs and assistant to the president.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Big Book of Canadian Trivia |page=[https://archive.org/details/bigbookofcanadia0000kear/page/238 238] |last1=Kearney |first1=Mark |last2=Ray |first2=Randy |year=2009 |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1-55488-417-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bigbookofcanadia0000kear/page/238 }}</ref> {{As of|2014}}, Ellis was still director of public affairs for the Hockey Hall of Fame.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

The stresses of life after hockey took their toll. In 1986 a bout with [clinical depression](/source/clinical_depression) began. He would later go public with his story by writing a book with Kevin Shea titled ''Over The Boards: The Ron Ellis Story'', published in 2002.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} He was a speaker on the importance of diagnosing and treating clinical depression.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

On October 17, 2016, Ellis was part of a healthy class inducted into the [Ontario Sports Hall of Fame](/source/Ontario_Sports_Hall_of_Fame) at the [Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel](/source/Sheraton_Centre_Toronto_Hotel), where he thanked [Jim Gregory](/source/Jim_Gregory_(ice_hockey)) as his mentor and coach.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fernandez put Cleveland in its last WS, now Ontario HOFer |url=https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles//fernandez-put-cleveland-in-its-last-ws-inducted-into-ontario-hof |website=www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/ |date=24 October 2016 |access-date=January 5, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106180542/https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles//fernandez-put-cleveland-in-its-last-ws-inducted-into-ontario-hof |archive-date=January 6, 2017}}</ref>

==Death==
Ellis died on May 11, 2024, at the age of 79.<ref>[https://thehockeynews.com/news/stanley-cup-champion-ron-ellis-was-a-great-player-hall-of-fame-person Stanley Cup Champion Ron Ellis was a Great Player, Hall of Fame Person] The Hockey News</ref><ref>[https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/former-maple-leafs-forward-ron-ellis-dead-at-age-79/ Former Maple Leafs forward Ron Ellis, dead at age 79] Sports Net</ref>

==Awards and achievements==
Ellis earned an unusual tribute in 1968 when former Leafs star [Ace Bailey](/source/Ace_Bailey)—then working as a timekeeper at [Maple Leaf Gardens](/source/Maple_Leaf_Gardens)—declared that he admired Ellis so much, he wanted the team to give his retired #6 to Ellis. Bailey's number had been retired following his career-ending injury in 1933. Ellis, who had been wearing #8, changed to #6 for the rest of his career, after which the number was re-retired.<ref name="cbc-cp2024"/>

* [1966–67](/source/1966%E2%80%9367_NHL_season) – [Stanley Cup](/source/Stanley_Cup) Champion
* [1964](/source/1964%E2%80%9365_NHL_season) – [NHL All-Star Game](/source/1964_NHL_All-Star_Game)
* [1965](/source/1965%E2%80%9366_NHL_season) – [NHL All-Star Game](/source/1965_NHL_All-Star_Game)
* [1968](/source/1967%E2%80%9368_NHL_season) – [NHL All-Star Game](/source/1968_NHL_All-Star_Game)
* [1970](/source/1969%E2%80%9370_NHL_season) – [NHL All-Star Game](/source/1970_NHL_All-Star_Game)
* 1972 [Summit Series](/source/Summit_Series) Champion

==Career statistics==
===Regular season and playoffs===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em;"
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3"  bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp;
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp;
! colspan="5"                    | [Regular&nbsp;season](/source/regular_season)
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp;
! colspan="5"                    | [Playoffs](/source/Playoffs)
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! [Season](/source/Season_(sports))
! Team
! League
! GP
! [G](/source/Goal_(ice_hockey))
! [A](/source/Assist_(ice_hockey))
! [Pts](/source/Point_(ice_hockey))
! [PIM](/source/Penalty_(ice_hockey))
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| [1960–61](/source/1960%E2%80%9361_OHA_season)||[Weston Dukes](/source/Weston_Dukes)||Metro Toronto Jr.B||28||18||17||35||16||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
|-
| [1960–61](/source/1960%E2%80%9361_OHA_season)||[Toronto Marlboros](/source/Toronto_Marlboros)||[OHA-Jr.](/source/Ontario_Hockey_League)||3||2||1||3||0||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1961–62](/source/1961%E2%80%9362_OHA_season)||Toronto Marlboros||OHA-Jr.||33||17||12||29||16||12||6||5||11||4
|-
| [1962–63](/source/1962%E2%80%9363_OHA_season)||Toronto Marlboros||OHA-Jr.||36||21||22||43||8||10||9||9||18||2
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1963–64](/source/1963%E2%80%9364_OHA_season)||Toronto Marlboros||OHA-Jr.||54||46||38||84||20||9||4||10||14||10
|-  
| [1963–64](/source/1963%E2%80%9364_NHL_season)||[Toronto Maple Leafs](/source/Toronto_Maple_Leafs)||[NHL](/source/National_Hockey_League)||1||0||0||0||0||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1963–64](/source/1964_Memorial_Cup)||Toronto Marlboros||[MC](/source/Memorial_Cup)||—||—||—||—||—||8||5||9||14||6
|-
| [1964–65](/source/1964%E2%80%9365_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||62||23||16||39||14||6||3||0||3||2
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1965–66](/source/1965%E2%80%9366_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||70||19||23||42||24||4||0||0||0||2
|-
| [1966–67](/source/1966%E2%80%9367_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||67||22||23||45||14||12||2||1||3||4
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1967–68](/source/1967%E2%80%9368_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||74||28||20||48||8||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| [1968–69](/source/1968%E2%80%9369_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||72||25||21||46||12||4||2||1||3||2
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1969–70](/source/1969%E2%80%9370_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||76||35||19||54||14||—||—||—||—||—
|-
| [1970–71](/source/1970%E2%80%9371_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||78||24||29||53||10||6||1||1||2||2
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1971–72](/source/1971%E2%80%9372_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||78||23||24||47||17||5||1||1||2||4
|-
| [1972–73](/source/1972%E2%80%9373_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||78||22||29||51||22||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1973–74](/source/1973%E2%80%9374_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||70||23||25||48||12||4||2||1||3||0
|-
| [1974–75](/source/1974%E2%80%9375_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||79||32||29||61||25||7||3||0||3||2
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1977–78](/source/1977%E2%80%9378_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||80||26||24||50||17||13||3||2||5||0
|-
| [1978–79](/source/1978%E2%80%9379_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||63||16||12||28||10||6||1||1||2||2
|- style="background:#f0f0f0;"
| [1979–80](/source/1979%E2%80%9380_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||59||12||11||23||6||3||0||0||0||0
|-
| [1980–81](/source/1980%E2%80%9381_NHL_season)||Toronto Maple Leafs||NHL||27||2||3||5||2||—||—||—||—||—
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 1,034
! 332
! 308
! 640
! 207
! 70
! 18
! 8
! 26
! 20
|}

===International===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:50em"
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year
! Team
! Event
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | &nbsp;
! GP
! G
! A
! Pts
! PIM
|-
| [1972](/source/1972_Summit_Series)
| [Canada](/source/Canada_men's_national_ice_hockey_team)
| SS
| 8
| 0
| 3
| 3
| 8
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [1977](/source/1977_World_Ice_Hockey_Championships)
| Canada
| [WC](/source/World_Ice_Hockey_Championships)
| 10
| 5
| 4
| 9
| 2
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan=3 | Senior totals
! 18
! 5
! 7
! 12
! 10
|}

==International play==
* 1972 – Member of [Team Canada](/source/Canada_men's_national_ice_hockey_team) in the [Summit Series](/source/1972_Summit_Series)
* 1977 – Member of Team Canada in the [World Hockey Championships](/source/Ice_Hockey_World_Championships)

==See also==
*[List of NHL players with 1,000 games played](/source/List_of_NHL_players_with_1%2C000_games_played)
*[List of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise](/source/List_of_NHL_players_who_spent_their_entire_career_with_one_franchise)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{sports links}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Ron}}
Category:1945 births
Category:2024 deaths
Category:Canadian ice hockey right wingers
Category:Hockey Hall of Fame employees
Category:Ice hockey people from Kawartha Lakes
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players
Category:Toronto Marlboros players
Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ron Ellis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Ellis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Ellis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.