[citation needed] Ellaby was born in Prescot, Lancashire,[5] he saw a promising association football career with Rotherham United ended by a knee injury before going on to become a St. Helens legend, and he died aged 90–91.
[4] Alf Ellaby played on the wing in St. Helens' 3–10 defeat by Widnes in the 1929–30 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 3 May 1930, in front of a crowd of 36,544.
Due to being on the 1932 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, Ellaby and Albert Fildes did not play in St. Helens' 9–5 victory over Huddersfield in the Championship Final during the 1931–32 season at Belle Vue, Wakefield on Saturday 7 May 1932.
Ellaby played on the wing in the 9–10 defeat by Warrington in the 1932 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1932–33 season at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 19 November 1932.
Ellaby was inducted into the Saints Greatest 17 in the Autumn of 2010 and was joined by Les Fairclough, his stand-off who had done so much to keep the three-quarter line moving to provide Alf with so many of his scoring opportunities.