For the ice hockey player, see Jon Morris (ice hockey). For other people with similar names, see Jonathan Morris (disambiguation).
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Jon Morris (born April 5, 1942) is an American former professional football player. His father was John D. Morris, a longtime reporter and editor in the Washington bureau of the New York Times.[1] At Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball. After Gonzaga he played center and linebacker for three seasons of college football at the College of the Holy Cross. 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 1963. He was selected All-East and All-America in his senior year, played in the College All-Star Game and captained the Senior Bowl.
He was inducted into the Holy Cross Hall of Fame in 1973. In 1983 Jon was an inaugural inductee of the Gonzaga College High School Athletic Hall of Fame, joined in 1991 by his brother, Will who quarterbacked at Gonzaga and the University of Maryland as well serving as Gonzaga Head Football Coach from 1975 to 1978.
The Green Bay Packers, coached by Vince Lombardi, picked Morris as their number two draft choice, however Morris chose to go with the Boston Patriots instead and he was signed on as their third pick. Morris was the Patriots' team Rookie of the Year in 1964, and their "Unsung Hero" in 1965. He was an AFL All-Star six times, 1964 through 1969, and was an AFC Pro Bowl Center in 1970; he was the first Patriots player to be selected for the AFC Pro Bowl. Morris was named to the second team, All-Time All-AFL, and to the fan-selected Boston Patriots All-1960s Team. He played 128 games for the Patriots, the eighth best individual record in club history. Morris played three years (1975–1977) with the Detroit Lions, elected by Lions teammates as their "Offensive Player of the Year" in 1975. He played his fifteenth and final professional season with the Chicago Bears in 1978.
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 the Patriots' 16-0 loss to the Houston Oilers at Fenway Park on October 13, 1968.
Morris wore #56 for the Patriots, as did Pro Football Hall of Fame LB Andre Tippett.
After his playing career, Morris worked as the color commentator on Patriots radio broadcasts from 1979 to 1987, followed by color analysis of NFL games for NBC television.
In 2011, Jon Morris was selected by a senior selection committee as a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.[2]
