Mercury Morris: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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Born in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], on January 5, 1947,<ref name=NYTObit>{{cite news |title=Mercury Morris, Elusive Rusher on a Perfect Dolphins Team, Dies at 77 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/22/sports/mercury-morris-dead.html |work=The New York Times |author=Alex Traub |date=September 22, 2024}}</ref> Morris attended [[Avonworth High School]] in the northwestern suburbs of the city. He attended West Texas State University (now [[West Texas A&M University]]) from 1965 to 1969, where he was an [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] for the [[West Texas A&M Buffaloes football|Buffaloes]] at [[Halfback (American football)|tailback]] in [[1967 College Football All-America Team|1967]] and [[1968 College Football All-America Team|1968]]. In 1967, he finished second in the nation to [[O. J. Simpson]] of [[1967 USC Trojans football team|USC]] in rushing yards with 1,274.{{r|Morris_Fiffer|p=44–45}}

In his record setting year of 1968, Morris set collegiate records for rushing yards in a single game, with 340, rushing yards for a single season with 1,571, and rushing yards over a three-year college career (freshmen being ineligible), with 3,388.{{r|Morris_Fiffer|p=44–45}} Simpson broke the single-season rushing record just one week after Morris set it.{{r|Morris_Fiffer|p=44–45}} Morris's three-season career rushing record was broken two years later by [[Don McCauley]].{{r|Morris_Fiffer|p=44–45}}

After college, Morris was picked in the [[1969 NFL/AFL draft#Round three|third round]] of the [[1969 NFL/AFL draft|1969 AFL-NFL]] [[Common Draft]] by the [[American Football League|AFL]]'s [[1969 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/mercury-morris-legendary-dolphins-rb-and-member-of-undefeated-1972-team-dies-at-77 |title=Mercury Morris, legendary Dolphins RB and member of undefeated 1972 team, dies at 77 |author=Grant Gordon |website=nfl.com |date=September 22, 2024}}</ref>

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Morris continued playing for the Dolphins in 1974 and 1975, before spending the last season of his shortened career playing for the [[San Diego Chargers]] in 1976. In 1974 a knee injury Morris suffered in the preseason limited him to five regular season games that year.{{r|Morris_Fiffer|p=83}} Morris missed the season opener and returned for the second game of the season, but then reinjured the knee in game 3.<ref>{{cite news|via=newspapers.com|accessdate=2024-02-20|newspaper=The Miami News|date=September 23, 1974|title=Miami finds lost attack|author=Noble, Charlie|page=7C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/301509307/?terms=%22mercury%20morris%22&match=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|via=newspapers.com|accessdate=2024-02-20|newspaper=The Miami News|date=September 30, 1974|title=It's war folks, and Dolphins are walking wounded|author=Noble, Charlie|page=8C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/301551212/?terms=%22mercury%20morris%22&match=1}}</ref> After playing three more games in November and December he suffered a neck injury and reinjured the knee, effectively ending his season.<ref>{{cite news|via=newspapers.com|accessdate=2024-02-20|newspaper=News-Press|date=December 9, 1974|title=Miami wins 4th title|author=Holliman, Ray|page=3C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/301509307/?terms=%22mercury%20morris%22&match=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|via=newspapers.com|accessdate=2024-02-20|newspaper=St. Lucie News-Tribune|date=December 18, 1974|title=Mercury Morris doubtful|page=20|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/778584958/?terms=%22mercury%20morris%22&match=1}}</ref> In 1975, Morris led the Dolphins in rushing yards, with 875,<ref name=pfr1 /> despite sharing the halfback position with [[Benny Malone]].{{r|Morris_Fiffer|p=91}} After being traded to San Diego before the 1976 season, he ran for 256 yards on 50 carries that year and decided to retire after the season, in part due to lingering difficulties from the neck injury suffered in a 1973 game against the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] and reinjured in a car accident.{{r|Morris_Fiffer|p=98}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Mercury Morris likes life without football|author=Brubaker, Bill|newspaper=Miami News|date=December 19, 1979|access-date=2020-03-23|via=newspapers.com|pages=1B–2B|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47232408/the-miami-news/}}</ref>

Morris finished in the top five of the NFL in rushing touchdowns twice and total touchdowns once during his eight-year career. His career 5.1 yard per carry average was third all time among NFL players (1st among halfbacks), only behind [[fullback (gridiron football)|fullbacks]] [[Jim Brown]] and [[Marion Motley]].<ref name=ypr>{{cite web|title=NFL Yards per Rushing Attempt Career Leaders|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rush_yds_per_att_career.htm|publisher=Pro-Football-Reference|access-date=March 3, 2017}}</ref> As of 2017, he ranked sixth all time behind Brown, Motley, running back [[Jamaal Charles]] and quarterbacks [[Michael Vick]] and [[Randall Cunningham]].<ref name=ypr /> Morris's career kickoff return average of 26.5 is among the all-time top 20 for players with at least 100 returns, and was in the top 10 at the time of his retirement.<ref name=pfr3>{{cite web |title=Pro-Football-Reference Career Yards per Kick Return Leaders|website=[[Pro-Football-Reference.com]] |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/kick_ret_yds_per_ret_career.htm|access-date=July 20, 2007}}</ref>{{r|Neft_13th|p=784}} As of 2017 he was ranked 18th.<ref name=pfr3 />

== Post-football career ==