Henry Ellard
Encyclopedia
Henry Austin Ellard is a former American football
wide receiver
who played for the Los Angeles Rams
(1983–1993), Washington Redskins
(1994–1998), and the New England Patriots
(1998). Ellard qualified for Olympic
trials in 1992 with his 54.1 foot triple jump
.
in Fresno, California
. He won the CIF California State Championships
in the Triple Jump in 1979 For college, Ellard went across town to Fresno State University from 1979-82 where he set an NCAA
record with 1,510 receiving yards in his final season. Ellard still holds the Fresno State record for touchdown catches, (25), and is third in receiving yards (2,947) and fourth in receptions (138).
in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1983 NFL Draft
by the Los Angeles Rams
. In the NFL
, Ellard was known for using his height and jumping ability to get to high passes, his leadership, and his superior skills as a route runner. Respected commentators like Deion Sanders
, and John Madden
have stated he is one of the best ever. In his eleven seasons with Los Angeles he went to three Pro Bowl
s. At the time of his retirement, Ellard held the Rams' team records for career receptions (593), receiving yards (9,761), 100-yard games (26), punt return average (11.3), and total offense (11,663).
Upon joining the Redskins, Ellard set off on a blistering pace for the 1994 season, ending it with 1,397 yards, 102 behind league-leader Jerry Rice
. He had three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, giving him seven for his career (his 799 yards in the strike-shortened 1987 season was on pace for an eighth). His final 1,000 yard season came in 1996 and required a 155-yard performance against the Dallas Cowboys
second-ranked defense to push him to 1,014 yards for the season.
As his production declined, Ellard became expendable, and found himself as a member of the Patriots in 1998. He retired after the season with 814 receptions for 13,777 yards, which placed him third on the all-time list, and 65 touchdowns. He also gained 1,527 yards returning punts, 364 yard returning kickoffs, 50 rushing yards, and 4 punts returned for a touchdown. Overall, he gained 15,718 total yards.
. In 2000, he was a coach at Fresno State before taking the receivers coaching job for the St. Louis Rams
in 2001. On January 25, 2009 Ellard came to the New York Jets
as the new wide receiver
s coach.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
who played for the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
(1983–1993), Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
(1994–1998), and the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
(1998). Ellard qualified for Olympic
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
trials in 1992 with his 54.1 foot triple jump
Triple jump
The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
.
High school and college
Ellard attended Hoover High SchoolHerbert Hoover High School (Fresno)
Herbert Hoover High School is a public secondary school in the Fresno Unified School District serving Fresno, California, in northern Fresno County. It is named for Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States...
in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
. He won the CIF California State Championships
CIF California State Meet
The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direct qualification path that can reach the state meet...
in the Triple Jump in 1979 For college, Ellard went across town to Fresno State University from 1979-82 where he set an NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
record with 1,510 receiving yards in his final season. Ellard still holds the Fresno State record for touchdown catches, (25), and is third in receiving yards (2,947) and fourth in receptions (138).
Professional career
Ellard was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1983 NFL Draft
1983 NFL Draft
The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983...
by the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. In the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, Ellard was known for using his height and jumping ability to get to high passes, his leadership, and his superior skills as a route runner. Respected commentators like Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders
Deion Luwynn Sanders , nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst...
, and John Madden
John Madden (American football)
John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...
have stated he is one of the best ever. In his eleven seasons with Los Angeles he went to three Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s. At the time of his retirement, Ellard held the Rams' team records for career receptions (593), receiving yards (9,761), 100-yard games (26), punt return average (11.3), and total offense (11,663).
Upon joining the Redskins, Ellard set off on a blistering pace for the 1994 season, ending it with 1,397 yards, 102 behind league-leader Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
. He had three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, giving him seven for his career (his 799 yards in the strike-shortened 1987 season was on pace for an eighth). His final 1,000 yard season came in 1996 and required a 155-yard performance against the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
second-ranked defense to push him to 1,014 yards for the season.
As his production declined, Ellard became expendable, and found himself as a member of the Patriots in 1998. He retired after the season with 814 receptions for 13,777 yards, which placed him third on the all-time list, and 65 touchdowns. He also gained 1,527 yards returning punts, 364 yard returning kickoffs, 50 rushing yards, and 4 punts returned for a touchdown. Overall, he gained 15,718 total yards.
Professional Statistics
| 1983 | Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... | 16 | 268 | 16.8 | 44 | 0 |
| 1984 | Los Angeles Rams | 34 | 622 | 18.3 | 63t | 6 |
| 1985 | Los Angeles Rams | 54 | 811 | 15.0 | 64t | 5 |
| 1986 | Los Angeles Rams | 34 | 447 | 13.1 | 34t | 4 |
| 1987 | Los Angeles Rams | 51 | 799 | 15.7 | 81t | 3 |
| 1988 | Los Angeles Rams | 86 | 1,414 | 16.4 | 68 | 10 |
| 1989 | Los Angeles Rams | 70 | 1,382 | 19.7 | 53 | 8 |
| 1990 | Los Angeles Rams | 76 | 1,294 | 17.0 | 50t | 4 |
| 1991 | Los Angeles Rams | 64 | 1,052 | 16.4 | 38 | 3 |
| 1992 | Los Angeles Rams | 47 | 727 | 15.5 | 33t | 3 |
| 1993 | Los Angeles Rams | 61 | 945 | 15.5 | 54 | 2 |
| 1994 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... | 74 | 1,397 | 18.9 | 73t | 6 |
| 1995 | Washington Redskins | 56 | 1,005 | 17.9 | 59 | 5 |
| 1996 | Washington Redskins | 52 | 1,014 | 19.4 | 51 | 2 |
| 1997 | Washington Redskins | 32 | 485 | 15.2 | 27 | 4 |
| 1998 | Washington Redskins | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 19 | 0 |
| 1998 | New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... | 5 | 86 | 17.2 | 19 | 0 | TOTAL | 814 | 13,777 | 16.9 | 81t | 65 | >
Coaching career
After his retirement, Ellard became an assistant coach at Southern California Christian High School, then was an assistant track-and-field coach at Villa Park High SchoolVilla Park High School
Villa Park High School is a suburban public high school in Villa Park, California. The school was built in 1964 and is one of four comprehensive high schools in the Orange Unified School District. The campus serves students residing in Villa Park and portions of the cities of Orange and...
. In 2000, he was a coach at Fresno State before taking the receivers coaching job for the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
in 2001. On January 25, 2009 Ellard came to the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as the new wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
s coach.