Allan Byron (Teddy) Morris (March 1910 – September 5, 1965) was a

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

player and coach for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. Morris began playing

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

with Toronto playground teams and moved on to the Winnipeg Native Sons junior football team. Upon his return to Toronto he joined the Argonauts junior squad and quickly earned a spot on the senior team. He was a star player for the Argonauts for nine years and was named All- Eastern

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

three times and

flying wing A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage, with its crew, payload, fuel, and equipment housed inside the main wing structure. A flying wing may have various small protuberances such as pods, nacelles, blis ...

twice and named the 1937 Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy winner as the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanship, and courage in the

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

. Morris' recovery of an Argonauts' punt blocked by Winnipeg's Bud Marquardt in the 25th Grey Cup is often cited as the first of the fabled "Argos Bounces" as it bounced off the field and right into Morris' hands preventing a Blue Bomber possession deep in Argos territory. In 1940, the year following his last game as a player, Morris began as a

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and full ...

coach for the Argonauts then, during IRFU's break from playing during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, coached HMCS ''York'''s football team, and upon IRFU's return to play in 1945, became Argonauts head coach earning three consecutive Grey Cups from

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

and respect from fans and players alike. Morris briefly returned to the Argonauts in 1960 as assistant coach to Lou Agase, having been brought in to help the American acclimatize to Canadian football.

Awards, honours, and records

* The Teddy Morris Memorial Trophy is the championship trophy of the Ontario Football Conference of the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to professional footbal ...

. * The Ted Morris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of the

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athlet ...

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

championship game. * awarded the Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy in 1937 as the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanship, and courage in the

. * named All- Eastern running back in 1933, 1934, and 1936. * named All-Eastern flying wing in 1935 and 1938. * merited Canadian Football Hall of Fame as both a player and a builder (

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

) * inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

in 1975 * named an All-Time Argo in 1998.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Teddy 1910 births 1965 deaths Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian football running backs Canadian Football League executives Toronto Argonauts players Toronto Argonauts coaches Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football people from Toronto