Jon Nicholson Morris (born April 5, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was a center for 15 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Holy Cross Crusaders before playing professionally for the Boston / New England Patriots, the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears.
Early life
Morris was born on April 5, 1942, in Washington, D.C. He later resided in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He attended the Gonzaga College High School, a Jesuit school, in Washington, D.C.
Morris was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball. He was an All-Metropolitan football player, and played both offense (center) and defense (linebacker). As a junior in 1958, he was selected to the School Sports Association (SSA) first-team All-Prep football team at center. In 1959 as a senior, the 6 ft 3 in (1.9 m) 200 pound (90.7 kg) Morris received the first-team SSA honor again at center. He was runner up for football player of the year honors in 1959.
Morris led Gonzaga's football team to the city championship in 1959. He was also named to the All-Catholic league basketball team that year; and was an All-League first baseman in baseball as a senior, with a batting average among the top five in the league.
College career
Morris attended College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, graduating in 1964. He started at center and linebacker for three seasons of college football with the Holy Cross Crusaders, and was team captain as a senior. As a senior, he was 6 ft 3 in (1.9 m) and 225 pounds (102 kg).
He was named both the Holy Cross Varsity Club Athlete of the Year and Holy Cross Lineman of the Year in the 1963 season. Morris was selected by the Associated Press (AP) at center to its second-team All-East team in 1962, and was selected first-team AP All-East center in his senior year (1963). Morris was a two-time first-team All-New England selection. and played in the College All-Star Game against the Chicago Bears in August 1964. He was named a second-team Catholic College All-American at center his senior year. He was named a second-team center on the Central Press Captains' All-American team, behind the first team's Dick Butkus.
Professional career
Boston/New England Patriots
Morris was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round, with the 27th overall pick, of the 1964 NFL draft. However, Morris chose to play with the Boston Patriots, who selected him in the fourth round, with the 29th overall pick, of the 1964 AFL draft. He chose the Patriots after speaking with their coach, Mike Holovak. Morris went on to play 11 years for the Patriots (1964–74), often considered the only quality offensive lineman on the team, and served as a team caption.
He was an AFL All-Star six times, 1964 through 1969, and was a Pro Bowl center in 1970. He was the first Patriot to be selected for the Pro Bowl after the AFL/NFL merger. He was selected by the Associated Press (AP) to its All-AFL second team in 1964-65 and 1969, and to its first team in 1966. He played in 130 regular season games for the Patriots, starting 125, He received two votes for AFL Rookie-of-the Year. The Patriots were 10–3–1 that season, the best record the Patriots had during Morris's tenure with the team. Toward the end of Morris's rookie season in Boston, Holovak said he had expected Morris to be a good player, but his play exceeded Holovak's hopes. Morris was selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game in his rookie season, and started for the East Division at center. The Associated Press (AP) and Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) named him second-team All-AFL that year. The Oakland Raiders' future Pro Football Hall of Fame center Jim Otto was the first-team All-AFL center that year.
Otto was selected to the All-AFL first team at center every year of the AFL's independent existence (1960–69), and was the Hall of Fame's all-time AFL first-team center. In 1964, Morris missed by a single vote being named first-team All-AFL center by the AFL itself. The other major entities selecting All-AFL members chose Otto first and Morris second. In The Sporting News player poll that year, Otto was first and Morris second. Morris was named the second-team All-Time AFL center for that league's decade of existence in the 1960s.
Morris played in 127 or 128 games for the Patriots until suffering a knee injury early in the 1973 season, on the second play of the team's second game of the season, against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 23, 1973. He only played in two games that season, and then only three games as a backup center the following year (1974). During the preseason with the Lions in August 1975, he played his first full game in nearly two years. Morris played three years (1975–1977) with the Lions, starting all 14 games every season. Morris announced his retirement in January 1979.
Career
Morris recovered several fumbles during his career. The first was a fumble by running back Ron Burton in the Boston Patriots 24–7 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Fenway Park on October 23, 1964. In 1966, he recovered a fumble by running back Larry Garron in the Patriots 27–27 tie with the Kansas City Chiefs at Municipal Stadium on November 20. He also recovered a fumble by fullback Jim Nance in a 16–0 loss to the Houston Oilers at Fenway on October 13, 1968.
Morris wore No. 56 for the Patriots, as did Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett.
Broadcasting
After retiring from the NFL in 1978, Morris became a radio broadcast color commentator for the Patriots, working alongside play-by-play radio broadcaster Gil Santos. In 1987, his radio broadcast partner was the legendary Curt Gowdy, winner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Award and the namesake of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award.
Honors
Morris was named to the AFL All-Time second-team, In 2014, he was named to the Patriots All-Time Team, during its 55th anniversary year. In 1979, he was named first-team center on the Patriots All-Time Team in celebration of the team's 20th anniversary. He was joined in 1991 by his brother, Will,