Mercury Morris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mercury Morris | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): Running back / Halfback |
Jersey #(s): 22 |
| Born: January 5, 1947 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
|
| Career information | |
| Year(s): 1969–1976 | |
| NFL Draft: 1969 / Round: 3 / Pick: 63 | |
| College: West Texas State | |
| Professional teams | |
| Career stats | |
| Rushing Yards | 4,133 |
| Average | 5.1 |
| TDs | 31 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Eugene "Mercury" Morris (born January 5, 1947), is a former American football player, nicknamed "early on" for his mercurial quickness when running with the ball. Morris was a running back and kick returner for 9 years, playing mostly for the Miami Dolphins (at first, in the American Football League, then, in the American Football Conference following the 1969 merger with the NFL).
Morris played in three Super Bowls and was selected to three Pro Bowls.
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[edit] Amateur career
Morris was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and attended Avonworth High School in the northwestern part of the city. Morris attended West Texas State University (now known as West Texas A&M University) from 1965 to 1969, where he was an All-American at tailback in 1967 and 1968. In 1967, he finished 2nd in the nation to O.J. Simpson in rushing yards with 1274.[1] In his stellar year of 1968, he set collegiate records for rushing yards in a single game, with 340, rushing yards for a single season, with 1571, and rushing yards over a 3 year college career (freshmen being ineligible), with 3388.[1]
Unfortunately for Morris, O.J. Simpson broke the single-season rushing just the week after Morris set it.[1] And, the three-season career rushing record was broken only 2 years later by Don McCauley.[1]
After college, Morris was picked in the third round of the 1969 AFL-NFL Common Draft by the AFL's Miami Dolphins.
[edit] Pro Football career
[edit] Early career
Morris excelled as both a running back and kick returner. The majority of his playing days were spent with the Miami Dolphins. From 1969 to 1971, he backed up Jim Kiick at halfback and served as the Dolphins' primary kickoff return man. In his rookie year of 1969, Morris had averaged 26.4 yards per kickoff return, leading the AFL in kickoff returns with 43 and in kickoff return yardage with 1136.[2] Both totals would have also led the NFL.[3] His 105-yard return was the longest in the AFL that season, and he was also one of the AFL's leading punt returners that year.[2] In 1970, he missed some time to a leg injury, but his 6.8 yard per carry average on 60 runs was the highest in the league among players with at least 50 runs.[4]
[edit] Super Bowl years
In 1971, despite being unhappy with his minimal playing time as backup halfback[5][6], he helped the Dolphins to their first Super Bowl,Super Bowl VI by leading the American Football Conference(AFC) with a 28.2 yard kickoff return average.[3] A strong Dallas Coboys team defeated the "Fins." During the regular season, Morris also made the most of his opportunities at running back, gaining 315 rushing yards on 57 carries for a 5.5 yard average[2], an average that would have led the NFL had he enough carries to qualify.[7] That season, Morris was selected for the Pro Bowl for the first time as a kick returner, although he also was used as a running back in the game.[6]
In the 1972 and 1973 seasons, Morris earned Super Bowl rings in Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII, and was selected for the Pro Bowl in both years. In 1972, Morris shared the halfback position with Kiick, participating in a few less plays than Kiick, but having more carries as a running back.[8] That year, he ran for exactly 1,000 yds on 190 carries[2], becoming, with teammate Larry Csonka, the first 1,000-yard tandem in NFL history. Morris was first thought to have finished with 991 yards, but the Dolphins' management asked the league to examine a play in which Morris fumbled a lateral: Morris was awarded the nine yards previously recorded as lost on the play, giving him 1,000 yards for the season. That year, Morris also led the NFL with 12 rushing touchdowns[2][7], and his 5.3 yard per carry average was 3rd in the NFL.[2]
By 1973, Morris had taken over the starting halfback spot and rushed for 954 yards on 149 carries[2], despite playing with a neck injury late in the season. His 6.4 yard per carry average led the NFL that season[2][7], and he finished 3rd in the NFL in rushing touchdowns.
Although Morris' Super Bowl statistics pale in comparison with teammate Larry Csonka, he excelled in several playoff games leading up to Miami's two Super Bowl championships. In 1972 he lead the Dolphins in rushing in both the divisional playoff game against Cleveland and the AFC Championship Game against Pittsburgh with 72 yards and 76 yards respectively.[9] In 1973, he led the Dolphins in rushing for the divisional playoff game against Cincinnati with 106 yards, and added 86 more rushing yards in the AFC Championship Game against Oakland.[10]
[edit] Late career
Morris continued playing for the Dolphins in 1974 and 1975, before spending the last season of his shortened career playing for the San Diego Chargers in 1976. In 1974, he was limited to playing just 5 games due to a knee injury suffered in a pre-season exhibition game.[11] In 1975 he led the Dolphins in rushing yards with 875[2] despite sharing the halfback position with Benny Malone.[12] After being traded to San Diego before the 1976 season, he ran for 256 yards on only 50 carries that year and decided to retire after the season, in part due to lingering difficulties from the neck injury suffered in 1973.[13]
Eugene "Mercury" Morris finished in the top five of the NFL in rushing touchdowns twice and total touchdowns once during his nine-year career. His career 5.1 yard per carry average is 3rd all time among NFL players (2nd among running backs and 1st among halfbacks) with at least 750 rushing attempts, behind quarterback Randall Cunningham and fullback Jim Brown.[14] His career kickoff return average of 26.5 is among the all-time top 10 for players with at least 100 returns.[15][16]
[edit] Non-Football activities
In 1974, Morris co-starred as Bookie Garrett in the blaxploitation film The Black Six alongside other football stars of the day.
In 1982, Morris was convicted of cocaine trafficking. He was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment, with a mandatory fifteen-year term. On March 6, 1986, his conviction was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court because evidence Morris had offered to prove his entrapment defense had been excluded under a mistaken characterization as hearsay. Morris was granted a new trial. He was able to reach a plea bargain with the prosecutor, resulting in his release from prison May 23, 1986, after having served three years. He later went on to a career as a motivational speaker. Towards the end of 2006, he was in a television commercial spot for a hair-treatment clinic, along with Wade Boggs.
[edit] Opinions regarding the 2007 New England Patriots
Throughout the 2007 NFL season, Morris was noted on several occasions for publicly criticizing how the high-scoring, powerful New England Patriots' potential undefeated season was viewed by, and perceived, among the media (particularly ESPN) in relation to the Miami Dolphins' undefeated 1972 season, of which he was, perhaps justifiably, proud.
On November 15, 2007, an interview with Morris was aired on ESPN in which Morris was quoted saying,"They're comparing them to a 17-0 team? If they're 17-0. But I think they're like ten games short right now, right? They got ten more icebergs to go through in this Titanic trip that they're talking about, and so far, nobody's made it across there except us. So we're [docked over] here waiting on you."
Morris continued with, "I'm telling you, I respect the Patriots if they do that, but right now, they haven't done that. So come to me, like I said, don't call me when you're in my town, call me when you're on my block, and I see you next door moving your furniture in. That's when I'll know you're going to the championship and you're about to play. And if you win it, I'll be dressed up in a tuxedo waiting on my bride."
On December 3, 2007, Morris appeared on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown along with former Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese. Regarding the prospect of the Patriots becoming the second undefeated team in NFL history, Morris said, "Don't go up there and now because you're two inches taller" (referring to the two extra wins the Patriots would need to go undefeated in the 16-game season compared to the 1972 Dolphins playing in a 14-game season)"...and say 'oh, now we're up here.' No, you can be parked right beside us like Daytona, outside pole, otherwise known as number two." And other quotes, such as, "When they win the Super Bowl, we can be like Mr. Rogers and welcome them to the neighborhood, but they still have to win four more games."
On December 5, 2007, Morris appeared on ESPN's Sportscenter and performed a rap about the 1972 Dolphins being the only team that has ever gone undefeated in an NFL season. Morris was on ESPN with Josh Elliott to discuss the New England Patriots' 12–0 record which, at the time, was five games short of matching the 1972 Dolphins' 17–0 combined regular season and post-season record. In this appearance, Morris criticized the manner in which the Patriots try to "bury everybody every week 'cause [they] can do it." Morris also vehemently repeated his argument of December 3, that even if the Patriots finish with a combined 19–0 record, two wins better than the Dolphins' 17–0 record, that not only should the Patriots' season not be considered better than the 1972 Dolphins' season, but also hinted at the idea that the Dolphins season should actually still be held in higher regard.
Morris also appeared more receptive to the idea of the New England Patriots joining his Miami Dolphins as the only teams to complete a perfect NFL season, noting that for the first time, his Miami Dolphins would have a team with whom they could be compared.[1]
Later in 2007, Morris also starred alongside several of his '72 Dolphins in a Reebok advertisement entitled "Perfectville", inspired by his statements. http://www.rbk.com/us/perfectville/
After the Patriots' loss in Super Bowl XLII, Mercury Morris said in an ESPN phone interview, "When this kid scored, a tear came to my eye because I'm emotional. You guys know you never see me like this. I'm very humbled at what the Giants were able to do as underdogs, realizing that on any given Sunday anyone can beat anyone else -- except in 1972."
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Eugene "Mercury" Morris with Steve Fiffer (1988). Against the Grain. pp. 44–45. ISBN 0-07-043195-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Pro-Football-Reference Mercury Morris". http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MorrMe00.htm. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
- ^ a b Neft, Cohen, and Korch (1995). The Sports Encyclopedia Pro Football. p. 772. ISBN 0-312-13186-0.
- ^ Eugene "Mercury" Morris with Steve Fiffer (1988). Against the Grain. p. 59. ISBN 0-07-043195-7.
- ^ Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick with Dave Anderson (1973). Always on the Run. p. 204. ISBN 0-394-48589-9.
- ^ a b Eugene "Mercury" Morris with Steve Fiffer (1988). Against the Grain. pp. 61–63. ISBN 0-07-043195-7.
- ^ a b c Neft, Cohen, and Korch (1995). The Sports Encyclopedia Pro Football. p. 766. ISBN 0-312-13186-0.
- ^ Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick with Dave Anderson (1973). Always on the Run. p. 205. ISBN 0-394-48589-9.
- ^ Neft, Cohen, and Korch (1995). The Sports Encyclopedia Pro Football. pp. 235, 242. ISBN 0-312-13186-0.
- ^ Neft, Cohen, and Korch (1995). The Sports Encyclopedia Pro Football. pp. 253, 260. ISBN 0-312-13186-0.
- ^ Eugene "Mercury" Morris with Steve Fiffer (1988). Against the Grain. p. 83. ISBN 0-07-043195-7.
- ^ Eugene "Mercury" Morris with Steve Fiffer (1988). Against the Grain. p. 91. ISBN 0-07-043195-7.
- ^ Eugene "Mercury" Morris with Steve Fiffer (1988). Against the Grain. p. 98. ISBN 0-07-043195-7.
- ^ NFL (2008). 2008 NFL Record & Fact Book (Official National Football League Record and Fact Book). p. 633. ISBN 978-1603207706.
- ^ "Pro-Football-Reference Career Yards per Kick Return Leaders". http://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/kick_ret_yds_per_ret_career.htm. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
- ^ Neft, Cohen, and Korch (1995). The Sports Encyclopedia Pro Football. p. 784. ISBN 0-312-13186-0.
[edit] External links
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