Remembering Larry Ellis

TigerBlog saw the back of a t-shirt yesterday that read "35 Years At 1895," a reference to the 35 years that the Princeton softball team played at Class of 1895 Field. 

There were a bunch of stats on the back of the shirt, including one that said "2,504," which is the number of runs scored by Princeton in its games at the field in those 35 years. It was the number that grabbed TB's attention.

If you're a serious Princeton fan, you know what the number 2,504 is one greater than, right? TB doesn't have to tell you. 

If you don't know, Bill Bradley scored 2,503 points in his Princeton basketball career. That's in three varsity years, with no three-point shot. 

It's an extraordinary number, one that becomes even more extraordinary when you consider that for all of the great players Princeton has had, before and after Bradley, all of the guys who played in the NBA or Europe or anywhere else, nobody has come within 878 points of him.

Is that record unbreakable? TigerBlog can't imagine that anyone will be taking that one down. It's lasted 58 years now. Put that number on the list of the unbreakable, along with 56 (straight games with hit by Joe DiMaggio), 511 (wins by Cy Young) 2,857 (points by Wayne Gretzky, who by the way has more assists — 1,963 — than any other player has points) and 29-2 1/2 (Bob Beamon's long jump).

Oh, wait a second. 

When Bob Beamon soared to that distance in the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, it shattered the existing record by nearly two feet. For years, nobody came close to touching the record, and it was among those considered unbreakable — until it was broken in 1991, when Mike Powell leapt 29-4 1/4. Now, 32 years later, Beamon's jump is still second. 

Why bring up Beaman? He grew up in New York City, Jamaica, to be exact. It was there that he was first mentored by the then-Jamaica High School coach. His name? Larry Ellis.

That's the same Larry Ellis who went on to become one of Princeton's most legendary coaches ever, with a 22-year run with the men's track and field program. He passed away in 1998 at the age of 70.

This is a quote Ellis' obituary from Craig Masback, an NCAA champion at Princeton in 1976 under Ellis and a leader in the sport in his own right:

"This is a great loss for USA Track & Field and the world of track and field. It’s also a great loss for me personally. He was far more than my college coach, he was a mentor, an inspiration, a leader and someone who very substantially shaped my whole life by both his guidance and example. He was the one that said to me that anything was possible in track and field and in life. He gave me the belief that I should pursue my dreams. I’ll forever thank him for that."

TigerBlog knew Ellis, and the word that comes to mind to best describe him is "gentleman." He was a beloved, universally respected figure, at Princeton and in track and field.

Today, Larry Ellis' memory lives on in many ways, including with the Larry Ellis Invitational, which will be held at Weaver Track and Field Stadium today and tomorrow. A complete schedule of events can be seen HERE.

The track and field teams are two of 15 Princeton teams who compete this weekend. If you're looking for home events, you have them on land (women's tennis, women's lacrosse, baseball, women's golf) and sea (women's lightweight rowing, women's open rowing, men's heavyweight rowing).

If you're in Ithaca, you can see a men's lightweight showdown between No. 1 Princeton and No. 8 Cornell, as well as the softball series between first-place Princeton and Cornell. If you're in Hanover, you can see Princeton play Dartmouth in men's lacrosse in a game that will have huge implications for the Ivy tournament.

The complete schedule can be found HERE.