19TH HOLE THE READERS TAKE OVER ELLISON'S OFFENSE

Sir:
In his story on Jim Kelly (Life With Lord Jim, July 21), Rick
Telander refers to Jacksonville Bulls coach Mouse Davis as ''the
father of the run-and-shoot offense.'' Far from being the father of
this offense, Mouse is one of its children.
In 1965 a Middletown, Ohio, high school coach named Glenn (Tiger)
Ellison wrote a book on the run-and-shoot offense. Ellison coached
Middletown High for 30 years and for 25 of them taught power
football. However, when his 26th team started the season 0-4-1 he
switched to run-and-shoot, winning the last five games and salvaging
the season. He used the offense during his final four years at
Middletown, and his teams averaged five touchdowns a game. It's all
in Ellison's book Run and Shoot Football: Offense of the Future,
published by Parker and reprinted last fall.
One who bought the book was Mouse Davis, then a high school coach
in the state of Oregon. Mouse put in a similar offense and won the
1973 state championship. He moved up to Portland State University and
used that offense with Neil Lomax at quarterback. Then he used it in
the CFL and in the USFL.
Ellison left Middletown and became freshman coach at Ohio State
(1963-69) before retiring to Florida.
PAT HARMON
Wyoming, Ohio