Mohegan - It was during spring training, 1982, that John Ellis had perhaps one of his most memorable encounters with Don Zimmer, then the manager of the Texas Rangers.

"He told me, 'You're the worst ballplayer I've ever seen. You're fired,'" Ellis said with a laugh. "He released me. ... It got better from there."

And considerably so.

Ellis, a New London native and former major league catcher, originated the Connecticut Sports Foundation in 1987 to provide financial assistance to Connecticut cancer patients and their families.

A cancer survivor himself who lost both a brother and a sister to the disease, Ellis and his wife Jane have since distributed more than $3.8 million to over 4,500 cancer patients, as well as donating more than $1.6 million to support ongoing cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Each year the Sports Foundation holds a celebrity dinner and memorabilia auction, celebrating its 28th anniversary on Friday night.

Zimmer, until his illness dictated otherwise, rarely missed a foundation event, happily appointing whomever it was he came across in the New York Yankees clubhouse that year - Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano - to join him.

On Friday, the Sports Foundation paid tribute to Zimmer, who died June 4, 2014 at the age of 83. The popular Zimmer, who served as Yankees bench coach under Joe Torre from 1996-2003, spent 66 years in baseball as a player, coach, manager and executive.

Zimmer's wife Soot and other members of his family attended Friday's dinner, highlighted by appearances from Yankees manager Joe Girardi, general manager Brian Cashman, Yankees executive Gene Michael, former Yankee favorites Paul O'Neill, David Cone and Bernie Williams and Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter.

Special tributes to Zimmer were planned for Ellis and Girardi during the program.

"I'm sure I'm going to get emotional," Girardi said at a press conference before the dinner.

"(Zimmer) loved it. He loved coming here. ... When I think about Zim, I think about a passionate baseball man that did a lot for 66 years. He was so enjoyable to be around."

Girardi played for Zimmer from 1989-92 when Zimmer managed the Cubs, 1993-95 when he served as a coach for the Colorado Rockies and from 1996-99 when he was Torre's bench coach, spanning 11 of Girardi's first 12 seasons.

Girardi notes that three members of the 1989 Cubs team - Girardi, Ryne Sandberg (Phillies) and Lloyd McClendon (Mariners) - are currently major league managers, crediting Zimmer for being a patient teacher.

Cone, meanwhile, recalls Zimmer with a smile, recounting the time Cone was pitching for the Mets against Zimmer's Cubs. Zimmer called for a risky hit-and-run with the bases loaded and two outs. "Just one of the great characters of the game," Cone said.

"He always wanted to do it," added Michael of the bases-loaded hit-and-run. "I think he got fired because of it in Texas."

Also Friday, Mike Francesa of WFAN radio turned his daily talk show into a telethon and auction to benefit the Sports Foundation, something Ellis called a "kind" gesture by Francesa.

Among the items being auctioned were four tickets to the general manager's suite at Yankee Stadium and "Meet the Manager" packages donated by Girardi and Showalter.

Meanwhile, Ellis couldn't help thinking fondly of Zimmer, the guy who once released him.

"His family and he supported Jane and I for 28 years. He was the oldest and truest member of the groups (of celebrities), so to speak," Ellis said. "He was our partner, our inspiration, our soul."

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday