The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 08, 1989, Image 1
JoVonda Floyd was ^ , , "Yeah, I kne* him nil. If you talked
crowned Miss Biack USC Players mourn loss of Coach Joe welt." ? Bill Watson, security coor- I
Sunday in Russell House. ** dinator for USC Athletic Department.
See Features, page 6 See Sports, page 10 See "Morrison," page 10
The Gamecock
Founded 1908 Eighty-one Years of Collegiate Journalism Wednesday
Volume 11, No. 61 University of South Carolina February 8, 1989
Campus
Sports staff,
new recruits
left stunned
By KEVIN ADAMS
Sports editor
No steps will be taken to find a
replacement for Joe' Morrison as
USC head football coach until after
Morrison's funeral has been held,
university officials said Monday.
Morrison, 51, died of a heart attack
Sunday night after playing racquetball
at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Morrison's funeral is scheduled for
10 a.m. Thursday in his hometown of
Lima, Ohio. A public memorial service
has been scheduled for for 3
p.m. Friday at Williams-Brice
Stadium.
Athletic Director King Dixon has
been placed in charge of the football
program and will coordinate all football
activities until a replacement for
Morrison can be found.
"All of us are in a state of shock," V
Dixon said. "A great man has left us.
We're grateful to Joe for what he has
done for the university and its
athletic program.
"Joe Morrison was a quiet, reserved
man ? a dedicated athlete v/ho - '
exerted a tremendous and positive influence
on the lives of many. He will \ "i
be sorely missed," he said. >
Dixon said a top priority is to
reassure players recruited by Morrison
that USC remains committed to
them as student-athletes and to con- %3||S
vince those recruits to honor their let- V?|?
In memory ol
See DEATH page 3 half-staff Mont
Morrison's death saddens ma
Gamecock al
By MARY PEARSON
Staff writer sei
USC alumni across the nation have called the
Alumni Association offices to express their sym- Re
pathies and regrets on head football Coach Joe co
Morrison's death, an association employee said.
Morrison died of a heart attack Sunday at the ea
age of 51. He had been with USC since 1982. all
"We had at least 50 to 75 calls Monday,"
association secretary Dot Ghaddis said. "Most just UJ
called to let us know what they were feeling. Most ha
just felt shock and deep sadness over the loss of
Coach Morrison." ba
Representatives from the Dunbar Funeral Home D<
of Columbia said a lot of flowers had been sent Re
from Gamecock alumni clubs from across the re<
nation. ris
It is unknown how much money is being con- do
tributed to two trust funds that have been set up in
Morrison's honor, said Debra Allen of USC's of
University Relations.
The Athletic Department has set up the Joe Mor- so
rison Scholarship Fund. Memorials may also be to
Rainy days are here again
Chemical engineering freshman Tommy Padgett sits
Most of Monday was rainy and overcast, but skies beg
5 remen
%
, ,< - ?4 i I
Jr
" ItODY l.FPP
F Joe Morrison, the flag on The Horseshoe was lowe
lay.
ny
umni expres,
it to the Providence Hospital Heart Institute.
"It is real tough and unexpected," said Dan
:eves, head football coach for the Denver Brons
and 1965 USC graduate.
Reeves, who played for the Gamecocks in the
rly 1960s, said Morrison will be missed by all
imni.
"I was excited when he took over coaching at (
SC. I have watched his coaching career, and he '
s done a lot for USC," Reeves said.
i piayea against mm wnen we were in pro root- <
11. He played for the Giants, and I played for '
illas. Over the years, we became friends,"
:eves said. "I was always there to help him in ;
:ruiting and in anyway I could. Not that Moron
needed much help. He always got the job :
ne."
Other alumni also expressed grief over the death i
Morrison. '
"Anytime you called on Coach Morrison to do '
mething, you could depend on him to get it done
the best of his ability. That was the sort of per- I
on the brick wall outside the Russell House Mond
;an to clear Tuesday.
tibers Mo
Memorial sei
By MARY PEARSON
News editor
Students, faculty and staff wore "Black Magic" swet
shirts, while others put Gamecock flags on their cars
honor of the late USC head football Coach Joe Morriso
Morrison, 51, died Sunday night of a heart attack.
Morrison collapsed in a shower at Williams-Bri
Stadium Sunday night. He had been playing racquetb;
for about half an hour with his friend and attorney I
"Punky" Holler and defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dui
before the collapse. Morrison, who was alive but u
conscious, was taken to Providence Hospital.
He never woke up. A hospital spokesman announc
his death at 9:03 p.m.
The campus was quiet and the sky murky and overcs
most of Monday and part of Tuesday, reflecting the fe<
ings of many students, faculty and staff.
"1 wore black. Just about everyone I know wore bla<
(today. I'm going to miss that man a lot. I don't knc
what the football team is going to do without him
business management junior Jack Fuller said.
Fuller said he found out about Morrison's death wh<
he returned to school Sunday night.
"I turned the TV on and just stood there shocked," I
Lisa Mills, graduate assistant for the office of Stude
Minority Affairs, was working at the Miss Black US
Pageant when she heard the news about Morrison
death. Mills also wore a black sweatshirt Monday
honor of Morrison.
"It touched me. The first reaction I had was that it w
shocking, surprising. From an outside perspectiye ai
from someone who loves sports, I know the team thoug
so much of him," she said. "We have a long day ahead
us today and a long year ahead of us without him."
USC Post Office employee Charlie Lowder got a c;
from his son at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday with the news
"Joe Morrison has a lot of the responsibility f
^' -mS creating a great football team. He had done much f<
A] JO. football at Carolina, more than any other coach
The Gamecock Lowder said.
red to USC President James Holderman appeared on WIS-1
News Sunday evening.
s sympathy Ir|
son he was. He was just a warm and generous per- Jf *
son," said Ed Hendrickson, coordinator of Alumni
Affairs for New York and New Jersey. ijmjg
Hendrickson said Morrison spoke twice at dinners
held by the alumni from the two states and pf *
was loved and appreciated by all alumni. * - mtkd
"He leaves a legacy. He was a winner and instill- Hi &
ed that spirit in every institutional involvement he . mh
had," Hendrickson said.
Although he met Morrison only twice, the
meetings had given him a lasting impression of the H
late coach, said Brad Henry, a 1958 graduate.
"He made you feel comfortable from the start. 1
am sure he made lots of friends at USC. He was
very easy to talk to, and he will be missed," Henry
said.
"I didn't know Joe Morrison personally, but the
news of his death was shocking and sad, " said f
George Wright, a 1950 graduate and former Alumni
Association president.
"He was a great coach, and I was sorry to see
him go," he said.
gr ~ Res]
By D. R. HA^
^ ^ passed away a
ddMMa | Friday night.
MMf Hiers. 54. w
TRIO progran
the University
He served wit
1968 and eari
psychology fro
The South
buried Monda
UIQC r^momhor,
taugh^ psy
PaPBi se/med ,o mi
" education senn
TRACY HOW It//he Gamecock iCUCl lu uic ci
just thank him
he has done fo
lay checking his bank book balance. The TRIO p
college of hi
sciences. It w<
rrison
L VIVC piCUlllCU
"It's a tragic loss. Joe Morrison
in brought great distinction to our football
n program in his six years with the univerce
sity."
all USC President James Holderman
Ed
in "It's a tragic loss," Holderman said. "Joe Morrison
n- brought great distinction to our football program in his
six years with the university. He was a good friend and a
ed valued and treasured member of the Carolina community.
We plan to honor him appropriately and to carry on as we
ist know he would want us to."
;\- Before the Southern Miss, basketball game at Carolina
Coliseum, more than 7,600 fans rose to their feet for a
ck quiet moment of prayer in honor of Morrison.
>w The Gamecock players and cheerleaders wore black
," patches on their uniforms in a silent tribute to Morrison.
They won the game for Morrison 105-63.
en
Morrison, who was born on Aug. 21, 1937, grew up in
he Lima, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati
in 1959 and was drafted in the third round by the
nt Giants. He went on to play 14 years for New York.
iC Morrison came to USC from a coaching job at the
i's University of New Mexico on Dec. 5, 1982.
in During his first year at USC, the Gamecocks finished
5-6. The next year, 1984, would be one of the best in
as Gamecock history as the team finished 10-2, rising as high
id as No. 2 in The Associated Press rankings before a 38-21
ht loss to Navy on Nov. 17.
of Both 1987 and 1988 were good years for Morrison. In
1987, the Gamecocks finished 8-4, losing to Louisiana
ill State in the Gator Bowl. In 1988, the team finished 8-4,
of losing to Indiana in the Liberty Bowl.
Morrison will be buried in Lima at 10 a.m. Thursday at
or Memorial Park Cemetery. Tuesday, a private memorial
or service for family and friends was held at Trenholm Road
United Methodist Church. USC will hold a memorial service
open to students, faculty, staff and the community at
"V Williams- Brice Stadium 3 p.m. Friday. Classes will not
be cancelled Friday afternoon.
Related Stories
Players' reactions.
^ Coach's accomplishments,
Morrison won respect,
I "The Man in Black,"
I page 5
Attention
Because The Gamecock had
already gone to press when news of
coach Morrison's death was reieasMorrison
ed, no coverage was included in
Monday's paper. We regret any
(37-1989 inconvenience.
pected professor
over weekend
fNES Hiers, who served as the director.
"In that position he was known as
ed another loss this an educational innovator," said
i J. Manning Hiers Richard Lawhon, the interim direct
his Columbia home tor of the TRIO program.
"He found new solutions to proas
the director of the blems that old solutions weren't
i and the inventnr nf workine for." Lawhon said. He was
101 program at USC. the principle architect of the Univerh
the university ^ince sity 101 program and was a consulned
his doctorate in tant and trainer to the program for
m USC. years, Lawhon said.
Carolina native was Hiers has been very successful in
y in Orangeburg. He securing grants from the federal
?d by a large crowd at government, corporations and other
s Chapel Monday sources, he said.
"He's been responsible for more
ming to USC, Hiers than a quarter of a million dollars
>logy at colleges in worth of grants every year since
entucky. He is surviv- 1973," said Lawhon, a long time
Dianne, who is work- assistant to Hiers.
Continuing Education, In addition to the TRIO program,
?-. ? ci xt ? 11: ? 4.^a u~ r\
iiici oiidwn in i>icw nicib Mdiicu 111c wppuiiuuii)
Scholars program for freshmen. This
lays willing to help in program was begun in 1970 and in;ible,
and he always volved a select number of freshmen,
jke me laugh," said Since its beginning, the grade point
ar Helen Moskos in a average of students in the program
iitor. "1 wish 1 could has been generally higher compared
one more time for all with the rest of the freshman class,
r me." The Opportunity Scholars prorogram
is based in the gram gives students a chance to get
imanities and social ????
is started in 1973 by ? TTTmr ->
See HIERS page 3