Ray Morrison

Ray Morrison
Biographical details
Born(1885-02-28)February 28, 1885
Sugar Branch, Indiana, U.S.
DiedNovember 19, 1982(1982-11-19) (aged 97)
Miami Springs, Florida, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1908–1911Vanderbilt
Position(s)Quarterback (football)
Catcher, Outfielder (baseball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1915–1916SMU
1918Vanderbilt
1921SMU (assistant)
1922–1934SMU
1935–1939Vanderbilt
1940–1948Temple
1949–1952Austin
Basketball
1918–1920Vanderbilt
Baseball
1919Vanderbilt
Head coaching record
Overall155–130–33 (football)
8–2 (basketball)
3–3 (baseball)
Bowls0–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
As coach, 3 SWC (1923, 1926, 1931)
As player, 2 SIAA (1910, 1911)
Baseball
As player, 2 SIAA (1910, 1912)
Awards
2x All-Southern (1910, 1911)
AP Southeast All-Time team (1869-1919)
1934 All-time Vandy team
SEC Coach of the Year (1937)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1954 (profile)

Jesse Raymond Morrison (February 28, 1885 – November 19, 1982) was an American football and baseball player and a coach of football, basketball, and baseball.[1] He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (1915–1916, 1922–1934), Vanderbilt University (1918, 1935–1939), Temple University (1940–1948), and Austin College (1949–1952), compiling a career college football record of 155–130–33. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954.

As a player, he was one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of Vanderbilt Commodores football. Morrison was selected as the quarterback and kick returner for an Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869–1919 era. He piloted the team to two Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) titles in 1910 and 1911. The 1910 team fought defending national champion Yale to a scoreless tie. Yale coach Ted Coy called Morrison "the greatest player I have seen in years." In 1911, Coy selected Morrison All-American and the Atlanta Constitution voted Vanderbilt the best backfield in the South.

He took over as coach at his alma mater Vanderbilt after the retirement of legendary coach Dan McGugin. Morrison was the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Coach of the Year in 1937. He was also the first head coach in the history of SMU Mustangs football, and helped popularize the forward pass in the Southwest with his "Flying Circus" teams, most notably when led by Gerald Mann.

  1. ^ Porter, David L. (1987). Biographical dictionary of American sports. Football. New York, New York: Greenwood Press. ISBN 031325771X.