High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! William Webb Ellis (24 November 1806 ? 24 January 1872) was an English Anglican clergyman who is famous for being the alleged inventor of rugby. Though credited with the invention of Rugby football while he was a pupil at Rugby School, the story of how he founded the game may be false; nevertheless, his name is firmly established in the folklore of the rugby union code of rugby, where he is immortalised by the William Webb Ellis Cup, presented to the ...