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Hall of Famers

Hall of Famer

TED MORRIS

Inducted in 1975

Member Details

Date of Birth: Ontario, 1910
Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario
Date of Passing: September 9, 1965
Sport: Football
Member Category: Athlete

Career Highlights

1933 & 1937

Grey Cup - Toronto Argonauts

1937

Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy

1938

Grey Cup - Toronto Argonauts

1945, 1946 & 1947

Grey Cup - Toronto Argonauts, coach

Hall of Famer TED MORRIS
Sport

Story

When it comes to Canadian football, Ted Morris did it all. Playing, coaching, scouting, and promoting the game, he was the first person to win three Grey Cups as both a player and a coach. Born in Toronto, Morris began playing football on the fields of the Queen Alexandra playground in 1927. In 1930, he moved west to captain the Winnipeg Native Sons to the western Canada junior title, losing the national junior championship to the Toronto Argonauts' junior team. A year later, Morris joined the Argonauts' senior club and spent the next nine years starring with them in the Inter-provincial Rugby Football Union. During the 1930s, the Argonauts, with Morris in their backfield, won three IRFU titles - in 1933, 1937, and 1938 - and earned the right to represent eastern Canada in the Grey Cup game, capturing the national championship trophy each time. In 1937, Morris' outstanding play was recognized with the Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy, which was awarded to the most valuable player in eastern Canada. He was also named to the IRFU all-star team six times. After retiring as a player, Morris spent two seasons (1940-41) as the Argos' backfield coach under head coach Lew Hayman. During the Second World War, he spent three years coaching the HMCS York Bulldogs in service competition. In 1944, the Bulldogs won the service championship and along the way defeated the HMCS Donnaconna team, which was the eventual Grey Cup champion. Morris took over as the Argonauts' head coach after the war and included 18 players from his navy teams on the roster. The team captured Grey Cup titles in 1945, 1946, and 1947. The championships made him, at the time, only the second coach to have won three straight Grey Cups, and Morris liked to boast, at a time when football in this country was debating the merits of importing American players, that he won with an all-Canadian lineup. Morris coached the Argonauts through the 1949 season, after which he retired to his farm. He was lured back to football and the Argos in 1956 to scout Canadian talent for the club, a position he held for a decade until his sudden passing in 1965. At the time, a Canadian university football championship game, the College Bowl (now the Vanier Cup), was being organized. In memory of Morris' dedication to football and commitment to developing young Canadian talent, the Vanier Cup's most valuable player award was named in his honour.