Grambling State News

March 16, 2023 – Choudrant, La. – Former Grambling State baseball coach and Baseball Coaches of America Hall of Famer Wilbert Ellis was celebrated with a reception held in his honor at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant on Thursday night.

Ellis’ No. 31 jersey and the No. 30 jersey of former Grambling State President and baseball coach Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones will be retired during a pregame ceremony at 5:30 p.m. today before the start of the Tigers’ three-game baseball series against Southern.

Game one of that series will start at 6 p.m. today.

On Thursday night, friends of Ellis gathered to offer congratulations and stories about their relationship with the coach who led GSU to three SWAC Championships and also guided the Tigers to three NCAA Tournament appearances en route to a 740–462–1 career record after assuming the head coaching role upon Jones’ retirement in 1977.

James Davison, a national business leader and trucking magnate based locally and friend of Ellis since the pair were children, led off the group of speakers honoring the Grambling State Legends Hall of Famer.

“Both of us came into this world in 1937 and it’s just good for both of us to still be here in the world,” Davison said. “We lived great lives and a friendship that couldn’t have been any better.

“We go back a long time. My mother and his mother were good friends and I’ve known this rascal ever since we were about 12 years old, so we’ve been together more than 70 years now. It’s been a good run. I love him and I appreciate so much y’all honoring him in this way. Let’s keep on taking good care of him.”

Lincoln and Union Parish District Attorney John Belton, a longtime friend who also works alongside Ellis with the Friends of the Eddie Robinson Museum, called Ellis both a friend and a father-figure.

“I don’t just call him ‘Coach,’ I call him ‘Dad’ as well,” Belton said. “I am so blessed in so many ways, because outside of my parents, he has played a big role in making the man I am today. Without him I don’t think I’d be where I am today.”

Belton also spoke of the No. 31 jersey Ellis wore.

“That number is significant in so many ways,” Belton said. “For one, Moses is mentioned in 31 of the 66 books of the Bible. Moses is one of the greatest leaders that ever walked the face of this Earth. But he and Coach Ellis have a lot in common – both are servant leaders. Coach is very humble just like Moses. Coach, you don’t boast or brag, you just walk the walk and talk the talk …

“Coach, I strive to be like you. I strive to be a man worth respecting, a man worth imitating and a man worth following. I’m not there yet, but I’m following you, and you’re there. So I thank God for you, and I love you.”

GSU Vice President of Finance Edwin Litolff was on hand to honor Ellis on behalf of the university.

“The first time I met Coach I learned that he has a lot more influence than people imagine and think,” Litolff said. “So sometimes he may get the blame for that, but it’s those behind the scenes positives, like the (Eddie Robinson) Museum, that he’s so responsible for.

“So when I first got here I was at the museum one day and we started talking about how we got here and what we did. I call him a true friend and have enjoyed the time that I’ve had here. I think about the prestige and history of Grambling, and feel honored to be able to have those times to spend with Coach Ellis. He teaches me the history of Grambling and I always think to myself, ‘What’s Coach Ellis going to say about this? It’s just an honor to be here tonight to thank him for everything he does.”

After former Jackson State coach Robert Braddy spoke in honor of his old rival, current GSU outfielder Trevor Hatton came up and expressed his thanks for the words of encouragement talking to the team as often as he does.

Then Ellis’ sister Resie Lampkin took her turn at the mic to  reveal the family’s insight on the Grambling Legend Hall of Famer.

“Very rarely in life do you meet and rub shoulders with true leaders of men,” Lampkin said. “Coach, you are one of those men. He has impacted the lives of thousands of young men aspiring for greatness in the baseball talent arena. And I must say, he continues to do so, even today.

“Any of those men would tell you that Coach, or Cap, whatever you choose to call him, was about developing their character first, their skills second and doing so, acknowledging God as the main focus.

“And any of those players would tell you that at the start of every season, Coach would start the season off with a quote from Martin Luther King (Jr.) – ‘The time is always right’ – a quote that many never forgot.”

She closed with a personal message to her brother.

“We want everybody to know that we are proud of what you did,” Lampkin said. “And that baseball was not your life and is not who you are. Who you are is a statue of a man of God. Was Wilbert a perfect man? By no means, no. But to the critics and naysayers, they don’t name a baseball field after a critic, do they?

“Wilbert, we’re all proud of you and the path that you have taken. I am honored to say that I am your sister.”

Current GSU baseball coach Davin Pierre then heaped his praises on Ellis before the legendary coach himself took the mic.

Ellis told a story about learning he had been named baseball coach at Grambling over the phone from a friend who read it in the news while Ellis was out on a baseball recruiting trip for GSU.

“That’s how I found out, I was out recruiting for Grambling,” Ellis said. “It didn’t matter whether I was going to get the job or not because I was doing it for Grambling.”

And as he closed out his turn at the mic, Ellis offered thanks to God for bringing everyone together to honor him.

“I want to thank God for all of you being here tonight,” Ellis said. “It makes me feel real good to have so many friends to come out and honor me as Grambling retires No. 30 for Prez and my No. 31. Prez asked me to wear his No. 30 for a while when I became head coach and I did for a while. I always listened to what Prez said because he signed my check.

“Thank you all for being here. God bless America. God bless Grambling and Lincoln Parish, and God bless you.”