Joe Morrison (1937-1989) was a National Football League football player who played for the New York Giants. 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... The National Football League (NFL) is the largest and most prestigious professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Big Blue Wrecking Crew, Big Blue, G-Men, The Jints, The New York Football Giants Team colors Royal Blue, Red, Gray, and White Head Coach Tom Coughlin Owner John Mara (50%) and Steve Tisch (50%) General manager Jerry Reese League/Conference affiliations National...

Giants' Glory Days

After attending the University of Cincinnati, he was drafted by the Giants, where he played at the positions of running back and wide receiver. He had a long career with the Giants, playing from 1959 to 1972. He holds the Giants' team record for receptions, with 395 catches, from seven different quarterbacks; over his career his plays gained 4,993 yards. Morrison was known as "Old Dependable" because of his willingness and ability to play any position he was asked to play. His jersey number (#40) has been retired by the Giants. The University of Cincinnati is a state university located in Cincinnati, Ohio. ... High school running back A running back, halfback, tailback or wingback is the position of a player on an American and Canadian football team who lines up in the offensive backfield. ... The wide receiver (WR) position in American and Canadian football is the pass-catching specialist. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Navy quarterback Aaron Polanco sets up to throw. ... In team sports, the squad number, jersey number, sweater number, or uniform number is the number worn on a players outfit. ...

Morrison's best individual season as a receiver came in 1966 when the Giants won only one game. He caught 46 passes for 724 yards and scored six touchdowns. While the Giants fell on hard times, Morrison was one of the bright stars on the team. He also had five seasons of forty receptions or more between 1964 and 1971. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ...

Life After The Giants

Joe Morrison was a head coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, University of New Mexico, and University of South Carolina. He is one of the few major college head coaches to never work as an assistant coach. The University of New Mexico (UNM) is a public university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ... The University of South Carolina, Columbia (USC or Carolina) is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. ...

Other than his NFL years, he is best remembered as the head coach at South Carolina, and is still regarded as the greatest coach in the program's history, despite only serving six years in that position and never having won a bowl game. He took the Gamecocks to three postseason games (1984 and 1987 Gator Bowl and the 1988 Liberty Bowl). It was under Morrison in 1983 that South Carolina began the tradition of Also Sprach Zarathustra (theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey") as its pre-game anthem and team entrance. This entrance is now regarded by sport networks, commentators, and college football fans as one of the great traditions in college football. The Toyota Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. ... For the stadium, see Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. ... Also sprach Zarathustra, op. ...

The 1984 campaign was affectionately dubbed the "Black Magic" year because of the team's success and because of Morrison's famous all black attire (cap, shirt, pants, shoes). The program ran a streak of nine consecutive wins (longest single season streak in school history) and was ranked #2 in the nation before falling to Navy and later falling to Oklahoma State in the Gator Bowl. Gaining victories against storied programs such as Georgia, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Florida State, as well as a regular season win against arch-rival Clemson, the Gamecocks finished that season with a school best 10-2 record. Morrison was named by the Walter Camp Foundation as the 1984 National College Football Coach of the Year. Morrison would also be named the Southern Independent Coach of the year in 1987 (despite Jimmy Johnson's Miami, FL University team winning the national championship that year). The 1984 squad also heralded two first team All-American players in James Seawright (linebacker) and Del Wilkes (offensive lineman), as well as future NFL players Sterling Sharpe (1984-1987), and Brad Edwards (1984-1987). The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and is in Annapolis, Maryland . ...

Other notable players coached by Morrison included Harold Green, who spent several years with the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, current Gamecock football radio broadcaster Todd Ellis, who is the all-time passing leader at South Carolina, and Robert Brooks, who was part of the Green Bay Packers 1997 Super Bowl Championship team. During the time, Charlie Weis, current Notre Dame head football coach, was an assistant coach under Morrison, his first coaching job in the college ranks. Also serving as an assistant during Morrison's tenure was Al Groh, who went on to be head coach of the New York Jets and currently is the head coach at the University of Virginia. Robert Brooks (born June 23, 1970) is a former American Football wide receiver who played for the Green Bay Packers (1992-1998) and the Denver Broncos (2000). ... Charlie Weis (born March 30, 1956 in Trenton, New Jersey) is the current head coach of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. ...

After the 1988 season, which was the school's second consecutive winning season (the school has never had more than two consecutive postseason appearances), expectations were high for the 1989 season. Tragically, it would not come as Morrison died in February 1989 at age 51 from a massive heart attack after playing racquetball.

Morrison's Traditions at South Carolina

Morrison's legacy still is in place at the University of South Carolina in various ways: the football team still has black jerseys as part of their uniform options (Morrison began the use of black jerseys with the first game in 1984, although for the remainder of that year the team wore all garnet uniforms at home. His 1987 & 1988 teams wore black jerseys at home); pre-game "2001: A Space Odyssey" anthem, which has also spread to other athletic events and other university functions such as graduations; his 1984 recognition as national coach of the year is posted in South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium; one outstanding football player each from offense and defense in spring practice are awarded the "Joe Morrison Award."

References

• New York Giants: Skill Positions at The Sporting News
• New York Giants at Sports Encyclopedia

• [1] at Pro Football Reference