Crystal Ellis, the first Black superintendent for Toledo Public Schools and the first Black basketball player at Bowling Green State University, died Monday. He was 91.
Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Romules Durant said he was honored to have been able to get to know Mr. Ellis.
“Knowing him and the impact he made on so many people made me want to always honor his legacy,” Mr. Durant said. “This really is just a sad day. So many people looked up to him.”
Mr. Durant said he was especially proud of the fact the district was able to have a Crystal Ellis Day Feb. 2.
The Toledo Technology Academy of Engineering also has a plaque in Mr. Ellis’ honor.
“I hope he knows that many of us have been able to take a walk in his shoes after he laid the pavement for us,” Mr. Durant said. “I hope he is happy knowing he left this world in a better place.”
The Rev. Randall Parker III, TPS board president, said that when he was a TPS student, Mr. Ellis helped him see that he was able to grow up and excel at whatever he wanted to do.
“I would say Mr. Ellis was extremely influential and impactful to this district,” the Rev. Parker said. “He was my superintendent. Just being a member of the school board and now its president has a lot to do with him. I had a cultural connection to him, and I was able to stand on his shoulders. He gave me the drive to be a part of this district at this level. He truly cared about his students.”
Mr. Ellis was born Feb. 5, 1933, in Springfield, Ohio. He attended Springfield High School, helping his team win the 1950 Ohio state championship, before accepting a scholarship from legendary BGSU coach Harold Anderson. In 1951, he became the first Black basketball player for the Falcons.
When asked by BGSU Falcon Media in 2010 what it meant to be the first Black player in school history, Mr. Ellis said, “Nothing. I was a member of the team. What I wanted to do is be the kind of person to be grateful for the opportunity that I had been given by Harold Anderson. That is what it meant to me because [recruiting Black players] wasn’t happening. ... And I wanted to make sure that what I did and how I did it and how I represented Bowling Green State University was acceptable.”
Mr. Ellis was named the 1956 team most valuable player while leading the team with 197 rebounds while also being named All-Mid-American Conference. He also captained the 1956-57 team. He was inducted into the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1971.
Mr. Ellis served in the U.S. Army from 1953-1955. After his discharge, he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1957 and a master’s in 1975 from BGSU. He received an honorary doctorate of education in 1994 from BGSU.
He started in the Toledo school district in 1969 as a physical education teacher and coach at Libbey High School. After that, he quickly rose to become an assistant principal at the former DeVilbiss High School and principal at the former Hamilton Elementary, Leverette Junior High, and Rogers High schools. He was named deputy superintendent by Ruth Scott in 1985.
Mr. Ellis was named Toledo superintendent of schools on Jan. 7, 1991, and he held the position until Sept. 6, 1996. After retiring, he held various positions in the district. He was appointed principal of Start High School temporarily in 1998 and later worked with a program to assist suspended junior high school students. He was appointed principal of Libbey for the 2003-04 school year. In 2006, he was named the acting chief of staff for the district.
He also spent several years as the athletic director at the Indiana Avenue YMCA. He formed the Junior Leaders Club, which taught groups of boys to fish, swim, and play baseball while building social skills.
“My life has been built around the strength of helping children,” Mr. Ellis told The Blade in 2006.
Mr. Ellis received honorary degrees from BGSU and the University of Toledo, and he was named one of the 100 most prominent alumni in BGSU’s history.
BGSU’s Crystal Ellis Scholarship for Future Educators “recognizes outstanding students who look to become professional educators, particularly those from ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the field,” according to the BGSU website.
“When you talk about what you’ve been given, you got to feel proud to be able to give back,” Mr. Ellis told BG Falcon Media in 2010. “When I step on this campus, I don’t feel that my feet are touching the ground. I’m lifted up above the ground.”
Mr. Ellis conceived a bill making it illegal to possess deadly weapons on school grounds, which was passed in June, 1992, by the Ohio House and Senate.
He and the former Shirley Dodge married in 1956. She died June 16, 2016.
Surviving are his daughter, Kimberly Ann Ellis, and two grandchildren.
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