Jon Nicholson Morris (born April 5, 1942) is an American former 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 who was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for 15 seasons in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and

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

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They compete in NCAA Division I, primarily as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, th ...

before playing professionally for the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

and the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Early life

Morris attended the

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, he was a three-sport athlete in

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 (appro ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

College career

After Gonzaga, he played

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for three seasons of

with the

. He was the ''Washington Daily News's'' Athlete of the Year in 1960 and Holy Cross Varsity Club Athlete of the Year and Lineman of the Year in the 1963 season. He was selected first-team All-Eastern in his senior year, captained the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

, and played in the

College All-Star Game The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the ...

in August.

Professional career

Morris was selected by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in the second round, with the 27th overall pick, of the

1964 NFL draft The 1964 NFL draft was held in Chicago, Illinois, at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers on Monday, December 2, 1963. The first overall pick was Dave Parks, an end from Texas Tech, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. The AFL draft was two days e ...

. However, Morris chose to play with the

Boston Patriots Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

, who selected him in the fourth round, with the 29th overall pick, of the

1964 AFL draft The 1964 American Football League draft was held in New York City on Saturday, November 30, 1963. The first selection was quarterback John Concannon of Boston College, taken by the Boston Patriots. The NFL draft was held two days later in Chicag ...

. Morris was the team's Rookie of the Year, and their "Unsung Hero" in 1965. He was an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the lea ...

six times, 1964 through 1969, and was a

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 ...

center in 1970. He was the first Patriot to be selected for the Pro Bowl. He played 128 games for the Patriots, the eighth best individual record in club history. Morris played three years (1975–1977) with the

, elected by Lions teammates as their Offensive Player of the Year in 1975. He played his fifteenth and final professional season with the

in 1978. Morris recovered several

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s during his career. The first was a fumble by running back

Ron Burton Ronald E. Burton (July 25, 1936 – September 13, 2003) was an American football player in the American Football League (AFL) for the Boston Patriots. He was a consensus All-American running back at Northwestern University, and is a member of t ...

in the Boston Patriots 24–7 victory over the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

on October 23, 1964. In 1966, he recovered a fumble by running back

Larry Garron Lawrence Jr. Garron (May 23, 1937 – September 13, 2019) was an American professional football player. A fullback, he played college football at Western Illinois University, then played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) fo ...

in the Patriots 27–27 tie with the

at Municipal Stadium on November 20. He also recovered a fumble by fullback

Jim Nance the Syracuse Orange James Solomon "Big Jim" Nance (December 30, 1942 – June 17, 1992) was an American professional American football, football player who was a Fullback (American football), fullback with the Boston Patriots during thei ...

in a 16–0 loss to the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

at Fenway on October 13, 1968. Morris wore no. 56 for the Patriots, as did Pro Football Hall of Fame LB

Andre Tippett Andre Bernard Tippett Sr. (born December 27, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the I ...

After football

After his playing career, Morris worked as the

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

on Patriots radio broadcasts from 1979 to 1987, followed by color analysis of NFL games for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television.

Honors

Morris was named to the AFL All-Time Second-team, and to the fan-selected Boston Patriots All-1960s Team. Morris was inducted into the Holy Cross Hall of Fame in 1973, was an inaugural inductee of the Gonzaga College High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983. He was joined in 1991 by his brother, Will, who

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

at Gonzaga and for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

as well serving as Gonzaga head football coach from 1975 to 1978. In 2011, Jon Morris was selected by a senior selection committee as a member of the

New England Patriots Hall of Fame The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Personal life

His father was John D. Morris, a longtime reporter and editor in the Washington bureau of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Jon 1942 births Living people American Conference Pro Bowl players American Football League All-Star players American Football League All-Time Team American football offensive linemen Boston Patriots players Chicago Bears players Detroit Lions players Gonzaga College High School alumni Holy Cross Crusaders football players NFL announcers New England Patriots announcers New England Patriots players Players of American football from Washington, D.C. DuPage Chaparrals football players American Football League players