Purdue University and Military Service
Elliott attended Purdue from 1943–1944. In his freshman year, Elliott earned varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. He played three games for the unbeaten and untied 1943 Purdue football team where he was described as "a capable triple-threater and stellar defensive performer." He scored a touchdown against Minnesota in his first game, and made a key interception at Purdue's ten-yard line in the season's final game against Indiana. A May 1944 newspaper article reported that the 19-year-old Elliott, who had been a "high school sensation last year," had won three major athletic letters in his first year as a Naval V-12 student at Purdue. "A speedy 160-pound, five foot 10-inch performer, he lost little time making his mark in football last fall once he became eligible upon completion of his first V-12 term." Elliott appeared in the final three games of the football season, and his performance in the season's final game against Indiana "provided one of the highlights of the Boilermaker season."
In basketball, he was "consistent as a guard on Purdue's cage combination." In baseball, Elliott played shortstop and center field, where he was "a steady fielder with a strong arm." In a May 1944 game, Elliott led the Boilermakers to a 17–4 win over Wisconsin, with five hits, five stolen bases, four RBIs, three runs scored, and four putouts in center field. His performance against Wisconsin was "one of the biggest baseball days ever turned" by a Big Ten baseball player.
Elliott played in the first six games of the 1944 football season for Purdue before being transferred by the Marine Corps. In a game against Marquette in late September, he broke up a 7–7 tie with successive touchdown runs of 24 and 71 yards. He was also the only defensive player in 1944 to pull down Illinois' Claude "Buddy" Young from behind. Elliott received orders to report for active duty in October 1944, and he played his last game in a Purdue uniform against the Michigan Wolverines on October 28, 1944. In November 1944, Elliott was sent to Parris Island. He was later sent to China and emerged from the war as a Marine lieutenant.
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