1972 Profile: John Ellis

"Big and strong, Ellis looks like his muscles have muscles. As tough as he is big, he plays the game aggressively - John was thrown off his high baseball team because he socked a catcher in the jaw.
He will return to his original position, catching, this season after working at first base and third base the last two seasons.
Born August 23, 1948 in New London, Connecticut, John was an outstanding football player in high school but turned down numerous scholarship offers to play baseball instead. His all-out hustle and attitude make him one of the most popular players on the team."

-Hal Bock, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1972 Edition

"John Ellis is 222 pounds of energy and strength propelled by a desire to conquer the world of left field fences and drive a decade of Yankee runners across home plate ahead of him.
During spring training of his rookie year, 1970, John, then age 21, batted himself into the Opening Day starting lineup. On that day, Mrs. Gehrig wrote him this personal note:
'For thirty years I've been looking for Lou's successor and I'm rooting for you.'
Whether Ellis is a first baseman or a catcher - or both - he plays the game with determination, intense concentration and a fierce will to win. Nicknamed 'Thunder' by his teammates as he rambled around the bases on an inside-the-park home run in his first major league game - John is ready to battle his way into Yankee history.
Thunder seems destined to recall the old Yankee Five O'clock Lightning."

-The New York Yankees Official 1972 Yearbook

"Big John played well the latter part of the 1970 season and was hitting .333 the first part of last year before leveling off to .244 by the end of the year. Still young, 23, and one of the strongest players in the game, John just needs to put it all together.
He's a potentially explosive hitter who is able to break open a game at any time as evidenced by his play in a doubleheader at Cleveland on May 24, 1970 when he was instrumental in the Yankees coming from behind to win both games. He went 5-for-8, with two doubles, two homers and five RBIs. Although he was signed as a catcher, he has played mostly at first base with the Yanks. He was tried at third base last spring and this spring will concentrate on his receiving in order to replace Jake Gibbs, the Yanks' backup catcher who retired last year.
John had a great spring in 1970, as he hit .438 (14-for-29) with three homers to win the annual James P. Dawson Award as the outstanding Yankee rookie in camp. He was quite an athlete at New London High in Connecticut, making All-State in both football and baseball. John was offered many college scholarships for his football ability, but chose baseball instead."

-1972 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide