Dorothea "Dorie" Ellis (J ‘31), referred to by the Tufts Athletics Department as "the matriarch of Tufts University Athletics," died on Friday at the age of 102.
Ellis was a multi−sport athlete at Jackson College, the female sister school to Tufts in the early 20th century, during the early years of women's sports at Tufts. She was the captain of the first women's baseball team and also played basketball and field hockey.
"Although women in athletics was in its infancy during those early years, it was a wonderful experience for all who competed and I felt it was an essential part of my college experience," Ellis said in a 1995 speech during Tufts' yearlong Women's Sports Celebration. "As I watch with admiration women's athletic events on TV and occasionally a game at the high school or college level, I think the saying, ‘You've come a long way baby,' says it all!"
Immediately after graduating, she married Frederick M. "Fish" Ellis (E ‘29, G ‘49), one of the great multi−sport athletes in Tufts history. Fish would go on to become a professor of physical education and coach multiple teams at Tufts, while Dorie worked in admissions and publications and was an active Tufts alumnus, receiving a Distinguished Service Award from the Tufts Alumni Council.
The Ellis Oval, which surrounds the football field, is named after the couple.
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