Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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IAA HH B*ir i UUC IWIUI I I Leading the Gamecocks to an unexpected 10-1 season for their best year in history, this "Miracle Worker" is still remembered and respected by his teammates from his days with the New York Giants nrnlnopinnol fnntholl nrnoniTiatinn pi uicooiuiiqi iuuiuuii uivjuiiiluiium. ?By Job Sitarz t isn't often that a man can go through life and - i isay the friendships he made were lasting ana mutual. But USC head football coach Joe Morrison can claim that and more. "To me," Morrison said, "the one thing you take out of pro football, more than anything else, is the friendships, the associations and the people you get the opportunity to play with. And fortunately, the list of folks I had the opportunity to Dlav with with the New York Giants goes on and on. Great people. Not only great ball players but great individuals." Through 14 seasons with the Giants, Morrison played with the likes of Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Tucker Frederickson and Andy Robustelli ? to name a few. Morrison's friends are quick to return praise of him. Dependable. Consistant. Smart. Committed. Believable. Alone, the words are just words. Together, used to describe Joe Morrison ? they describe a winner. FORMER GIANTS' linebacker Sam Huff said, "He's a winner. Joe's never known a loser. He doesn't know what it's like to lose. "He's a born winner." Morrison's professional football career, spent mostly as a running back and receiver, started in 1959 when the New York Giants drafted him out of the University of Cincinnati. While at Cincinnati, he set school rushing, passing and scoring records. But despite all the records and honors he earned in college, the l ima. Ohio native wasn't a first round draft choice ? he was picked in the third round. DURING THE seasons he spent with the Giants, Morrison played eight different positions, including flanker, tight end, split end, halfback, fullback, quarterback and safety. When he reported to the Giants, his new teammates couldn't quite figure out where Morrison was going to fit into the Giants' scheme. Jack Stroud, a guard who blocked for Morrison, remembers the first time he saw the future coach of the Gamecocks. "He wasn't the biggest back to come down the pike," he said. "He wasn't the fastest back to come down the pike. As a matter of fact, the first time we saw him run, we couldn't figure out what position he was going to play. "WHEN WE first saw him run we thought, 4Oh God, where's he going to play? He's too slow.' He's a little bowlegged when he runs." Huff agreed, comparing his own speed to Morrison's. "He didn't have the blazing speed. I don't know what he ran a 40-yard dash in. You had to put a sundial on him, the same as you had to on me. "The fastest 1 could ever run was about the same as Morrison ? that was a five flat 40." Morrison may not have had blinding speed, but it didn't ?-- tA CtrAiiH MUW mill uuvrii, awvv/i U1115 iv/ x/mw. "All he did was take that ball and jump over people, run over people and outrun people," he said. "Joe just did his job. One hell of a job." IJoe Morrison's Career wi Joe Morrison as a season leader SCoring TD PTS ( 1969 66 11 66 rushing YDS ATT TD 1969 387 107 4 pass receiving I NO YDS! TD 1965 41 574 4 1QRQ .. (M7 7 ison: "A v inn Rl^.\ .: ;^E^BBH|H9HA Mffv^^l^Ak* mm M m " i,m' liv Iflffxr ^95^ ^HB| ifify^ HI111 BPs % \ aMBir : *|k V \^ ^JBa^n^R9^^H^:^HHHK;;:'^w JjL >? i| Joe Morrison (40) breaks into the clear as he did many tim with the New York Giants. "JOE WAS totally committed," said Allie Sherman, Morrison's second coach. He said Morrison wasn't the biggest, fastest or most powerful player, but everything he did was done in the way of a winner. Those were two of Morrison's trademarks, working hard and being able to get the job done. "He'd work harder than anyone else," said Frank Gifford, ABC sports commentator and ex-Giants receiver. "He had to because sometimes during a practice he'd work out at two or three different positions. He never complained about having to put in any extra work to get prepared. "He was just a great utility guy. He'd never complain or gripe about it and he didn't complain when ne aian i piay. THE SUCCESS he enjoyed while playing was the result of hard work. And the work he put into the game didn't go unappreciated by the people that it mattered to the most ? his coaches and teammates. With the Giants, Morrison was a profound note-taker. He would take more notes and ask more questions than most of the players. Sherman recalls, "His notes were as thorough as anybody's. We used to check those just to make sure a man was in the rioht Hir#?rtir?n mittino his Stuff down. ???>**!, f- O "He applied himself. He had great initiative. He's a selfstarter," Sherman said. "You didn't have to coach him too long." WHEN RUNNING BACK Tucker Frederickson came to the Giants in the mid-sixties, he and Morrison roomed together for seven years. As for Morrison's note-taking, Frederickson said, chuckling, "We used to try to break up ith the Giants most seasons played and most consecutive seasons ^played I I L. neao coacn Joe Morrison winner" I -? I Ip^-V' k ? I^H&r :; J * gg^el^ra^liSiasiB&uansg^SSMgr - ?WBWH^ ^W^-, ???nnff5lP , ?|f t s&^ssssjgsggawis?mbp* <Pfi, j * **.v ,-? ^EjnV _ &j9 Courtesy of ft* Naw York Giant* es during his 14 years of playing professional football 1 meetings and get out ot there early. Joe was always asking j questions. I used to throw things at him because he'd ask so many damn questions. "He was a real student of the game. Joe was all football." The note-taking was a necessity, according to the USC 1 coach. "I knew I was going to play running back and wide : receiver. You do take notes on those things." ! Aside from the notes, Morrison was a player that could do it j all on the field. I AI THniir.H HF mnrentrateH nn nffense. there were oc- i ? | casions for him to play defensively when the Giants needed someone to fill a spot. Dick Lynch, a former safety now doing Giants radio broadcasts, said, "He was like the Bandaid guy. He could come in and do the job any way you needed, primarily on offense. On defense ? he touched back there a little bit. We don't want to talk too much about his defense." One game Morrison had to play on defense was a championship game against the Green Bay Packers. "He tried to cover Ron Kramer, the big tight end," said Huff. "He tried. Nobody could. Kramer's one of the great tight ends of all-time. . "JOE FILLED in because we got everybody hurt on defense and there was nobody else to play. He gave it all he KoH Vaii r??it him nr? aoainct thp nrpml(?r fioht PnH Hfllv 11UU A V/U pui IIIIII wp mv V V??%? -J Cow!" And don't think Morrison forgot what it was like trying to cover Kramer. "That was a long day. We didn't slow him down very much," he recalls. CoRtiimMl en foUwinf gw?e Coaching record UT-Chattanooga New Mexico 1973 4-7-0 i960 4-7-0 1974 4-7-0 1981 4-7-1 1975 5-5-1 1982 10-1-0 1976 6-4-1 1977 9-1-9 1978 7-3-1 1979 9-2-0 Carolina 1983 5-6-0 1984 10-1-0 11 ..... I- 11 CI c i4-ycai lObuiu. 11*91*9