J. Ray Morrison (February 28, 1885 – November 19, 1982) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and a coach of football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

(1915–1916, 1922–1934),

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

(1918, 1935–1939),

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

(1940–1948), and

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 155–130–33. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

as a coach in 1954. As a player, he was one of the greatest

quarterbacks The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ameri ...

in the history of

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

. Morrison was selected as the quarterback and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for an ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869–1919 era. He piloted the team to two

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

(SIAA) titles in 1910 and

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

. The 1910 team fought defending national champion

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

to a scoreless tie. Yale coach

Ted Coy Edward Harris Coy (May 23, 1888 – September 8, 1935) was an American football player and coach. Coy was selected as a first-team All-American three straight years from 1907 to 1909 and was later selected as the fullback on Walter Camp's All-T ...

called Morrison "the greatest player I have seen in years." In 1911, Coy selected Morrison All-American and the ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Con ...

'' voted Vanderbilt the best

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the ...

in the South. He took over as coach at his '' alma mater'' Vanderbilt after the retirement of legendary coach

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

. Morrison was the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) Coach of the Year in 1937. He was also the first head coach in the history of

SMU Mustangs football The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team representing Southern Methodist University (SMU) in University Park in Dallas County, Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the American ...

, and helped popularize the

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...

in the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

with his "Flying Circus" teams, most notably when led by

Gerald Mann Gerald C. Mann (January 13, 1907 – January 6, 1990) was an American football player and the Texas Attorney General, attorney general of Texas from 1939 to 1944. Mann studied at Southern Methodist University, where he was twice named to all-con ...

Early years

Ray Morrison was born on February 28, 1885 in Sugar Branch, Indiana. Soon after the family moved to

McKenzie, Tennessee McKenzie is a city at the tripoint of Carroll, Henry, and Weakley counties in Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,310 at the 2010 census. It is home to Bethel University and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at McKenzie. ...

, where Morrison attended school. He also spent a year at McTyeire School for Boys.

Vanderbilt University

To achieve funds for college, Morrison worked on a dredge boat on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

for a year. Morrison won

Bachelor of Ugliness The Bachelor of Ugliness was a title conferred onto Vanderbilt University's most popular male undergraduate. One of the highest honors that a student could achieve, it was given to the male undergraduate student believed to be most representative of ...

for the class of 1912. He played on the football and

teams with his brother Kent.

Football

He played football as a prominent quarterback and halfback for Dan McGugin's Vanderbilt football teams from 1908 to 1911. He is considered one of the best quarterbacks in Vanderbilt's long history. The team posted a 30–6–2 record during his four years. He was selected for an all-time Vanderbilt team in 1934. Morrison was selected as the quarterback and kick returner for an ''Associated Press'' Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869–1919 era. He weighed some 155 to 159 pounds.

1908

The 1908 squad was hampered by a wealth of

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

s, which McGugin with the help of halfback Morrison led to a 7–2–1 campaign, including a loss to

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Sewanee Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892 * Sewanee Natural Bridge * Saint Andrews-Sewanee School See also * Suwanee (disambiguati ...

. In a 16–9 defeat of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, widely considered their greatest team at that point, Walker Leach got loose for a 60-yard run on a fake kick, tracked down by Morrison and stopped short of the goal.

1909

The 1909 team lost to SIAA champion

, its first loss to a Southern team in six years.

1910

The 1910 team won the SIAA title and fought defending national champion

to a scoreless tie on

Yale Field George H.W. Bush Field (commonly known as Bush Field, originally Yale Field) is a stadium in West Haven, Connecticut, just across the city line with New Haven, Connecticut. It is primarily used for the Yale University baseball team, the Bulldogs, ...

. Yale coach

called Morrison "the greatest player I have seen in years." He was selected All-Southern by several writers. Vanderbilt won a close game over

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

9–2. Late in the first quarter, Morrison returned a punt 90 yards for Vanderbilt's

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

was the game's

field judge In gridiron football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college football games, seven officials operate on the field. Since 2015, Division ...

, and McGugin did not want to show too much, playing Heisman's

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in two weeks. Morrison was the star of the Georgia Tech game, scoring two touchdowns.

1911

Edwin Pope John Edwin Pope (April 11, 1928 – January 19, 2017) was an American journalist known for his sportswriting at the ''Miami Herald'', where his work appeared from 1956 until his death in 2017. He covered Super Bowl I through Super Bowl XLVII. Som ...

's ''Football's Greatest Coaches'' on the 1911 team reads "A lightning-swift backfield of

Lew Hardage Lewis Woolford Hardage (February 11, 1891 – August 29, 1973) was an American college football player and college football and baseball coach. Hardage was an All-Southern halfback every year he played: 1908, 1909, 1911, and 1912—the first tw ...

Wilson Collins Cyril Wilson Collins (May 7, 1889 – February 28, 1941) was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly at left field for the Boston Braves in the and seasons. Listed at , 165 lb., Collins batted and threw right-handed. ...

Ammie Sikes Ammie Thomas Sikes (July 26, 1892 – September 9, 1963) was an American college football player and physician. He played as a fullback at Vanderbilt University from 1911 to 1914. Early years Sikes was born on July 26, 1892, in Smyrna, Tennessee ...

, and Ray Morrison pushed Vandy through 1911 with only a 9–8 loss to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

." The ''Atlanta Constitution'' voted it the best backfield in the South. Ted Coy selected Morrison All-American. He was unanimously selected All-Southern. Morrison, Hardage and Rabbi Robins had two touchdowns each in a 45–0 win over

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. Morrison had two short touchdown runs in a 17–0 win over

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and had a 22-yard run on a fake punt. In "easily the greatest southern game of the season", Vanderbilt claimed the SIAA title by beating

21–0. Morrison had a 70-yard run, and on a fake punt out of his own

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

ran for 75 yards. Against

, Morrison threw a

touchdown pass In gridiron football, a touchdown pass is a forward pass, pass thrown from the passer (usually the quarterback) to a Wide receiver, receiver that results in a touchdown being scored. The pass can either be caught in the end zone itself, resulting i ...

to Hardage, as well as had a short touchdown run.

Baseball

Morrison also played on the baseball team, moved to the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

from

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

in his junior year, and back to catcher as a senior. The 1910 and

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

teams won the SIAA. Morrison was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the 1912 team.

Coaching years

Morrison first taught and was athletics director at Branham & Hughes Military Academy in Spring Hill. Upon

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

, Morrison went to Fort Oglethorpe. In 1919, Morrison spent a year at

Gulf Coast Military Academy The Gulf Coast Military Academy (GCMA) was a military school in Mississippi. It was founded in 1912 by Colonel James Chappel Hardy in Gulfport, Mississippi. It ceased operation in 1976. After severe damage in Hurricane Katrina, a small part of th ...

as athletics director and teacher.

SMU

Ray Morrison was the first head coach in the history of SMU Mustangs football. He won just two games in two years from 1915 to 1916.

Return

In 1920, Morrison returned to SMU. He notably brought the forward pass to the southwest during his time at SMU. Morrison was one of the first to pass not just on

first down A down is a period in which a play transpires in gridiron football. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to other codes of football, but is synonymous with a "tackle" in rugby league. The team in possession of the f ...

, but on first and second down too. His teams earned the nickname the "Flying Circus". They won the 1923,

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

, and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

(SWC) titles. An 18-game unbeaten streak was ended in the 1925 Dixie Classic, with a touchdown off a tipped pass for

West Virginia Wesleyan West Virginia Wesleyan College is a private college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist E ...

's Gale Bullman, and a 30-yard

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

missed in the final minute. Morrison's best passer, Hall of Fame quarterback

, led the team to the 1926 title. The 1929 team was undefeated, but with four ties, including one with undefeated TCU to close the season.

Vanderbilt

He coached Vanderbilt in

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

when McGugin left for the military, and led the Vanderbilt team to a 4–2 record. The team beat

76–0, the largest margin of victory in the history of the

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

. Former ''

Nashville Banner The ''Nashville Banner'' is a defunct daily newspaper of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, which published from April 10, 1876 until February 20, 1998. The ''Banner'' was published each Monday through Friday afternoon (as well as Saturdays unti ...

'' sportswriter

Fred Russell Fred Russell (August 27, 1906 – January 26, 2003) was an American sportswriter from Tennessee who served as sports editor for the ''Nashville Banner'' for 68 years (1930–1998). Beginning in the 1960s he served for nearly three decades as ...

's book ''Fifty Years of Vanderbilt Football'' published in 1938, wrote: "Salient after salient was wiped out by Gen. Morrison's forces and Tennessee's reinforcements could not check the tide. The retreat turned into a bloody, hopeless rout. Berryhill was cited for bravery for his wonderful outflanking the enemy, by which he took six positions (touchdowns) single-handedly. The result was 76−0." Morrison was also the head

coach at Vanderbilt for one season in 1918–19, tallying a mark of 8–2, and the head baseball coach at the school in 1919, notching a record of 3–3.

Return

Upon the retirement of the legendary McGugin, Morrison was hand-picked as successor at his ''alma mater''. Morrison brought his own staff from SMU and neglected the retained

Josh Cody Joshua Crittenden Cody (June 11, 1892 – June 17, 1961) was an American college athlete, head coach, and athletics director. Cody was a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he played several sports. As a versatil ...

's coaching abilities. Fred Russell offered this description of Morrison upon his arrival as coach of Vanderbilt: Morrison's first team in his second stint finished second place in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), led by captain and SEC player of the year

Willie Geny Charles F. "Willie" Geny (November 14, 1913 – December 19, 1999) was an American college football and basketball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores. He was football's Southeastern Conference player of the year in 1935. As captain of the Com ...

. The 1936 team was captained by Dick Plasman, the last NFL player to play without a helmet. The 1937 team upset

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

on a

hidden ball trick A hidden ball trick is a play in which a player deceives the opposing team about the location of the ball. Hidden ball tricks are most commonly observed in baseball, where the defence deceives the runner about the location of the ball, to tag out t ...

, the school's first-ever victory over a ranked opponent (the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

began in 1936). The team's captain was SEC player of the year

Carl Hinkle Carl Columbus Hinkle, Jr. (March 3, 1917 – November 15, 1992) was an American college football player who was a stand-out center for the Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt Univers ...

and also featured

Baby Ray Buford Garfield "Baby" Ray (September 30, 1914 – January 21, 1986) was an American football player who played 11 seasons in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers from 1938 to 1948. Early life Ray was born in Una, Tennessee, a ...

. Morrison was awarded SEC Coach of the Year in 1937.

Temple

After the 1939 season, Morrison resigned from his position at Vanderbilt to go to

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, with Cody as his line coach. He resigned from Temple in 1949.

Austin College

He finished his career at Austin College. He quit to take over "development and public relations" at SMU, a post he held for eleven years.

Death

Morrison died at the home of his son in

Miami Springs, Florida Miami Springs is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estat ...

at the age of 97.

Head coaching record

Football

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Ray 1885 births 1982 deaths American football quarterbacks Baseball catchers Baseball outfielders Austin Kangaroos football coaches SMU Mustangs football coaches Temple Owls football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores baseball coaches Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football players Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball coaches All-Southern college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees College men's basketball head coaches in the United States People from McKenzie, Tennessee People from Switzerland County, Indiana Coaches of American football from Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee Baseball coaches from Tennessee Baseball players from Tennessee Basketball coaches from Tennessee