Russell Ellington (February 4, 1938 – September 1, 2007) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Savannah State College—now known as

Savannah State University Savannah State University (SSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is the oldest historically black public university in the state. Th ...

—from 1976 to 1984 and

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a Private university, private African Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlan ...

from 1997 to 2000, compiling a career

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coaching record of 181–141. He also coached the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

for nine years. His titles as a coach include: four state high school basketball championships; three

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black col ...

(SIAA) titles; two Region XVII Junior College championships, and one NJCCA District 10 championship.

Biography

Early life

Ellington grew up in

Wadley, Georgia Wadley is a city in Jefferson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,643 in 2020. History The community was named for William Morill Wadley, a railroad official. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Wadley as a town in 1876. ...

. He began working in cotton fields at age five to help his family, which included eight brothers and sisters. He left home for good by the age of 12, hitching a ride on a freight train to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, where his sister lived.

Education

Russell graduated from Alfred E. Beach High School in

, in 1956. He was an academic All-American in football and in basketball at

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in biology, with a minor in chemistry, in 1960. He did further studies at University of Georgia and Georgia Southern University.

Playing career

Basketball

Ellington was a standout player for Beach High School and Morris Brown college.

Professional football

Ellington played professional football for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

for two years before his career was interrupted because of injuries.

Coaching career

Beach High School (1962–1976)

Ellington was the Beach High School, boys' basketball coach for 15 years, winning 482 of 529 games he coached (91%). His teams won five state championships including the Georgia High School Association Class AAA State Championships during the first season following integration of the Georgia High School Association, 1966–67, the first season black players were allowed to compete. That 1967 team earned the ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' magazine national championship.

Savannah State (1976–1984)

As Savannah State College;'s men's had basketball coach Ellington compiled a 148–91 record (.619 winning percentage). During that time he also was the school's athletics director and a mathematics teacher, overseeing the school's transition from NCAA Division III to Division II in 1981. He currently holds the record for most wins by a men's basketball coach in Savannah State's history, producing winning records in the final eight of his nine seasons and winning three

regular season and tournament title during his tenure.

Harlem Globetrotters (1984–1993)

Ellington toured with the Globetrotters as head coach from 1984 to 1993, traveling to 122 countries with the team.

Savannah Tech (1993–1997)

Ellington returned to Savannah in 1993 to serve as the first men's head basketball coach and athletic director at Savannah Technical School (College). The team eventually made an appearance in the National Junior College playoffs in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

Morris Brown (1997–2000)

Ellington returned as the men's head basketball coach and athletic director at his alma mater,

, in 1997.

Beach High School (2005–2007)

Ellington returned to coaching in 2005 taking the Bulldogs to the Georgia state quarter-finals with a 28–3 record

Honors and awards

He is a member of the Morris Brown College Hall of Fame (1978). In 1980, he was inducted into the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame. He also is a member of the Beach High School Hall of Fame (1987) and the

Hall of Fame (1997). Ellington was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame on May 19, 2007.

Quotes

''"There are three parts of faith: One is knowledge, another is belief in yourself and the third is to just put it into action."''

Personal life

Ellington was married to Betty W. Ellington for 30 years; they had six children. He was a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity, the Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum Board of Directors, the Board of Directors for the West Broad Street YMCA (Savannah, Georgia), the Georgia High School Sports Association, and the South Eastern Quarter Back Club. Ellington died on September 1, 2007, from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

complications at St. Joseph's Hospital in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, aged 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellington, Russell 1938 births 2007 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Savannah, Georgia Deaths from lung cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Harlem Globetrotters coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Morris Brown Wolverines athletic directors Morris Brown Wolverines football players Morris Brown Wolverines men's basketball coaches Morris Brown Wolverines men's basketball players New York Giants players People from Wadley, Georgia Players of American football from Chatham County, Georgia Savannah State Tigers basketball coaches American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen