Bill Ellerbee
Lifetime Commitment
High School Basketball Coach, Teacher, Mentor
Regarded as one of the greatest coaches in Philadelphia prep basketball history
Created a Philadelphia Public League basketball dynasty at Simon Gratz High School
Served in the United States Marine Corps and is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War(1964-68)
Graduate of Cheyney State University (1970)
Went on to complete his educational training in mathematics at the University of Illinois, the AndoverDartmouth Institute, and Endicott College
Began his career at Simon Gratz High School as a mathematics instructor (1970)
Had a 32 year career teaching math to Philadelphia high school students (1970-2002)
Spent 20 years as the head coach of boy’s basketball at Simon Gratz (1982-2002)
Career record at Simon Gratz: 452-100 with a .819 winning %
Coached the Bulldogs to 20 consecutive playoff tournaments and 12 title games
11 of his players have been named to the Philadelphia Daily News All-City Team
Paced Simon Gratz to a 107 game Public League winning streak
Coached the Bulldogs to a 134 game overall winning streak, including playoffs
Led Simon Gratz to 6 Public League titles (1990-91, 1993-94, 1997, 2001)
Posted a record of 27-1 and topped the year end ESPN High School Basketball Poll (1990-91)
Had a perfect season of 31-0 and topped the year end USAToday High School Basketball Poll (1992-93)
Named Philadelphia Public League Coach of the Year (1991)
2 time Pennsylvania High School Basketball Coach of the Year (1993, 1997)
Named ESPN National Coach of the Year (1993)
Selected as USA Today NationalCoach of the Year (1993)
Assistant Coach for the Temple University Men’s Basketball team (2002-06)
At Temple, his responsibilities included management of academic monitoring and support for student-athletes
Served for 31 years as an Assistant Recreation Leader with the City of Philadelphia Department of Recreation
Co-founder and served for five years as Deputy Director of Total Response, Inc. (1988)
The non-profit organization is committed to the development and coordination of youth motivational programs through athletics
