John Melville Morrow Jr. (April 27, 1933 – October 21, 2017) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

from 1953 to 1955. He played in the NFL for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

from 1956 to 1966.

Early years

Morrow was born in

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

, in 1933, attended Ann Arbor High School.

University of Michigan

Morrow enrolled at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1952 and played for

Bennie Oosterbaan Benjamin Oosterbaan ( ; February 24, 1906 – October 25, 1990) was an American football end and head coach for the University of Michigan. He was a three-time All-American college football player, a two-time All-American basketball player, and ...

Wolverines The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine ...

teams from 1953 to 1955. He started four games at center for the

1953 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1953 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1953 Big Ten Conference football season. In its sixth year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 6–3 record (3–3 against conference op ...

and three games at tackle for the 1954 team. Morrow's younger brother, Gordon Morrow, played at the end position for Michigan from 1955 to 1958.

Professional football

Morrow was selected by the

in the 28th round (336th overall pick) of the

1956 NFL draft The 1956 NFL draft had its first three rounds held on November 28, 1955, at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and its final twenty-seven rounds on January 17–18, 1956, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Califo ...

. He played three seasons and appeared in 35 games for the Rams, principally as a center, during the 1956, 1958, and 1959 NFL seasons. Morrow next played seven seasons with the

from 1960 to 1966. He was selected to play in the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

in 1961 and 1963 and was the starting center on the 1964 Cleveland Browns team that won the

1964 NFL Championship Game The 1964 NFL Championship Game was the 32nd annual championship game, held on December 27 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. With an attendance of 79,544, it was the first NFL title game to be televised by CBS. The game marked the last ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrow, John 1933 births 2017 deaths American football centers Players of American football from Michigan Michigan Wolverines football players Los Angeles Rams players Cleveland Browns players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Sportspeople from Port Huron, Michigan People from Calumet County, Wisconsin Players of American football from Ann Arbor, Michigan Pioneer High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan) alumni