Career
Ellis was a utility player and made his league debut with North Melbourne in 1933. He represented Victoria at interstate football in the 1937 Perth Carnival. In 1940 he changed clubs, moving to Footscray where he played mostly in defence.
During the Depression of the 1930s, Ellis at the age of 15, took swag to back and headed to country Victoria in search of work.
Outside of football, Ellis was a fireman. To make ends meet he would drive a truck on his rostered days official
He had six children, nine grandchildren and six great grandchildren. His two eldest sons also played League football, Lindsay Ellis played for Footscray and Kingsley Ellis played for Fitzroy.
One of Ellis"s grandsons, Daniel Merriweather, is a well regarded singer-songwriter whose debut album Love and War went to number two on the United Kingdom charts in 2009.