University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Gerald W. Elliott 1971 - Football, Wrestling
One of the outstanding defensive linemen of his time, Gerry Elliott was three times chosen to the All New England second team or honorable mention squad. In his senior campaign of 1970 Elliott, a 1983 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, was the captain of the Catamount football eleven, and the recipient of two prestigious UVM athletic awards. He won the Russell O. Sunderland Memorial Trophy, awarded to the senior athlete who has best exemplified the qualities of character, leadership and persistence in overcoming obstacles. He also won the Red Cook Award as the football squad's Most Valuable Player. In his football career he was selected to the All-Yankee Conference and All-ECAC teams, in addition to All-New England. Elliott was also Vermont's best wrestler in his division.
An outstanding student, Elliott graduated cum laude from UVM, and earned a master's degree in political science from Plattsburgh State, where he maintained a 4.0 grade point average.
Following his graduation from UVM he gave professional football a try, surviving several cuts with the New England Patriots. In 1971 he joined the Hartford Knights of the American Coast League. There he earned all-league kudos at defensive tackle and was honored as the league's top player. From Hartford he moved, in 1972, to the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League.
He left pro football to concentrate on teaching, accepting a faculty post at Hudson Valley Community College, where he also coached football and wrestling. Starting in 1976, he became a teacher and coach at Columbia High School in East Greenbush, N.Y., where he resides with his wife Margaret (UVM Class of '73) and their daughter, Elizabeth.
