Jack Duane Ellena is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player.

Ellena played offensive tackle for coach Red Sanders

Henry Russell Sanders

Henry Russell "Red" Sanders was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Vanderbilt University and the University of California at Los Angeles , compiling a career college football record of 102–41–3...

 at UCLA

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

 from 1952 to 1954. He was a member of the Bruins team that won the 1954 Rose Bowl

1954 Rose Bowl

The 1954 Rose Bowl game, played on January 1, 1954 was the 40th Rose Bowl game. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the UCLA Bruins, 28–20. Michigan State halfback Billy Wells was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. This was the first year that Michigan State University was counted in...

 and was named that year's FWAA & UPI national champions

NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship

A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...

. That same year, Ellena was named to the College Football All-America Team

1954 College Football All-America Team

The 1954 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1954 college football season...

 and won the UPI Lineman of the Year

UPI Lineman of the Year (College)

The United Press International college football lineman of the year award was among the first and most recognized college football awards. With the demise of UPI in 1997 the award was discontinued. Offensive and defensive linemen were eligible, including offensive ends, with one, Howard Twilley,...

.

In addition to playing football for the Bruins, Ellena wrestled heavyweight at UCLA. He was a two-time Pacific Coast Intercollegiate heavyweight champ (1953, 1954), and placed fourth at the 1953 NCAA wrestling championships at Penn State, earning All-American honors.

Ellena was selceted in the 19th round (228th overall) of the 1953 NFL Draft

1953 NFL Draft

The 1953 National Football League Draft was held on January 22, 1953.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:...

 by the Los Angeles Rams

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

. He played guard

Guard (American football)

In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....

 and nose guard for the Rams from 1955 to 1956. He was cut by the Rams in 1957 and was unable sign with any teams in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 or Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

.

After his football career, Ellena ran Mountain Meadow Ranch

Mountain Meadow Ranch

Mountain Meadow Ranch, , is a family-owned three-week summer camp for boys and girls aged 7–17, located near Susanville, California, USA, on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, 75 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada...

, a summer camp

Summer camp

Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....

 located near his home town of Susanville, California

Susanville, California

Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the south-central part of the county, at an elevation of 4186 feet . The population was 17,974 at the 2010 census, up from 13,541 at the 2000 census...

. In 1987 he was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.