Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Positions Linebacker Weight 100 kg | Role Football player Name Riki Ellison Children Rhett Ellison | |
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Date of birth: (1960-08-15) August 15, 1960 (age 55) College: University of Southern California NFL draft: 1983 / Round: 5 / Pick: 117 Education University of Southern California Organizations founded Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance | ||
Polynesian football hall of fame enshrinement video riki ellison
Riki Morgan Ellison (born August 15, 1960) is a former U.S. college and professional linebacker, who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL), and went by the name Riki Gray while in college at USC as an All-Pac-10 player in 1982. He is the first New Zealander to play in the NFL.
Contents
- Polynesian football hall of fame enshrinement video riki ellison
- 49ers legend riki ellison on super bowl kaepernick state of nfl
- College career
- Professional career
- Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance
- Youth Impact Program
- Personal
- References
49ers legend riki ellison on super bowl kaepernick state of nfl
College career
Ellison was part of a USC Trojans team that went to two Rose Bowls and won a national championship. He graduated USC with a degree in International Relations with a graduate emphasis on Defense and Strategic Studies.
Professional career
The NFL San Francisco 49ers chose him with their fifth-round pick in the 1983 NFL Draft becoming the first ever New Zealander and Maori to play in Professional Football. Jerry Attaway, his conditioning coach at USC and (teammate) Ronnie Lott had convinced Bill Walsh to select him in the draft.
Ellison won three Super Bowls during his seven years with the 49ers. He was drafted alongside a pair of future Pro Bowlers, running back Roger Craig and center/guard Jesse Sapolu. In his final season with the 49ers in 1989, he broke his right arm in the final preseason game and was placed on the injured reserve list for the season. He played his final three seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders.
In 2017, Ellison was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance
In 2002, Ellison launched the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance a non-profit organization.
Youth Impact Program
In 2005, Ellison founded the Youth Impact Program for disadvantaged and at-risk adolescent boys in US inner cities. It partners with universities, the U.S. Marine Corps, local NFL team, and public school teachers. The U.S. Marine Corps also participates in YIP by providing students with leadership and character development skills training and mentoring.
Personal
Ellison is of Māori descent. At eight, Ellison moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with his father, Dan, who went on to become an economic advisor to the United Nations. Shortly thereafter, Ellison's parents divorced and he relocated with his mother to Los Angeles, where she remarried Dennis Gray. Ellison went to high school in Tucson, AZ.
The Ellison family comes from a strong sporting background, he is related to professional rugby players Tamati Ellison and Jacob Ellison who both played in Super Rugby, Jacob is now playing in Japan for Fukuoka Sanix Blues, while Tamati is with the Melbourne Rebels. Thomas Ellison, his great-uncle, played for the first New Zealand rugby team to play in Great Britain in 1888 and 1889, and captained the first New Zealand team to play in Australia in 1893.
In 1992, Ellison relocated his family to New Zealand. In 1995, he attempted to bring an American college football bowl game to Auckland, but the proposed "Haka Bowl" did not go ahead.
Ellison's son, Rhett, plays as a tight end for the NY Giants.