Ev Ellison – Builder

An athletic family provided the foundation for a life‑long involvement in sports by Ev Ellison.

This involvement dates back as far as 1935 when, at the age of 15, he started curling. Ellison’s involvement in that sport has continued to this day.

In the early 1950’s he was elected to the Prince Albert Curling Club executive and he was the first president of the curling club when the new Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club was built. While serving on a number of committees and executives positions, Ellison remained a competitive curler including various Post Office competitions and in 1983 the senior men’s provincial finals in Lanigan, where he was runner-up.

His participation in softball began as a parent providing transportation for a team his daughter Debbie played on.  By 1965 Ellison was managing and coaching the Prince Albert Opti-Mrs. team which won the provincial pee wee championship.  In subsequent years he managed the Opti-Mrs. while Al Olson coached.  This combination led the Opti-Mrs. to further provincial titles in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1971.  In 1972, the Opti-Mrs. were invited to participate in the Saskatchewan Summer Games in Moose Jaw.

Ellison also served as president of the Prince Albert Minor Softball Association for two years and then was secretary-treasurer of the organization for two seasons.  He received provincial softball awards in 1972 and 1983.  In 1971 he was named the Prince Albert Sportsman of the Year.

With the Opti-Mrs. having graduated from minor softball competition, Ellison maintained an involvement in the sport, chairing the 1982 Western Canadian senior women’s championship in Prince Albert and then acting as driver for the Northwest Territories team at the 1985 Canadian midget boys softball championship.

Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.