Earl Morris (basketball coach)

Last updated
Earl "The Pearl" Morris
Current position
Team(retired)
Biographical details
Born (1933-10-07) October 7, 1933 (age 89)
Somerville, Alabama

Earl Morris (born October 5, 1933) is a retired Morgan County, Alabama high school basketball coach. His career spanned over 30 years. [1]

Contents

Coaching career

Morris's teams compiled a 590–250 record with three consecutive Alabama state championships 1957-1958-1959 at Austinville, and one at Decatur in 1970. His teams, known for their disciplined, fundamentally sound, team concept, won numerous county, district and region titles while averaging 20 wins per year. He received state, national, and international recognition for his coaching skills including admission into the ASHAA Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Decatur High School gymnasium named in recognition of him, making it the Earl Morris Gymnasium.

Personal life

Earl Morris was born near Somerville, Alabama. He is a graduate of Union Hill School and Jacksonville State University, where he played basketball and started his coaching career. He currently resides with his wife, Olga, in Decatur, Alabama.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Gaines</span> American basketball player and coach (1923–2005)

Clarence Edward "Big House" Gaines Sr. was an American college men's basketball coach with a 47-year coaching career at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Among his numerous honors for his achievements, he is one of the few African Americans to be inducted as a coach into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pop Gates</span> American basketball player (1917–1999)

William Penn "Pop" Gates was an American professional basketball player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calhoun Community College</span> Community college in Tanner, Alabama, U.S.

Calhoun Community College is a public community college in Tanner, Alabama. It is the largest of the 24 two-year institutions that make up the Alabama Community College System.

Mortimer Jordan High School is a public high school located in Kimberly, Alabama. It is a part of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decatur High School (Alabama)</span> Public school in Decatur, Alabama, United States

Decatur High School is a public high school in Decatur, Alabama, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Decatur City School District. Decatur High offers technical, academic, and Advanced Placement (AP) programs, as well as dual enrollment with the John C. Calhoun Community College System.

Dan Earl is an American college basketball coach, was introduced as the head coach of Chattanooga Mocs on April 1, 2022. He is originally from Medford Lakes, New Jersey and attended Shawnee High School in Medford, graduating in 1993. He was a 1993 Parade All-American and was named 1993 USA Today New Jersey Player of the Year in high school. He was named 2nd team All-Big Ten as a junior for the 1995–96 Penn State Nittany Lions before losing two seasons to injury. He completed his eligibility for the team in 1999 and led Penn State basketball in assists four seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Purnell</span> American former college basketball coach (born 1953)

Oliver Gordon Purnell Jr. is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Radford University from 1988 to 1991, Old Dominion University from 1991 to 1994, the University of Dayton from 1994 to 2003, Clemson University from 2003 to 2010, and DePaul University from 2010 to 2015, compiling a career record of 448–386.

Rex Frederick is a retired American collegiate basketball player and coach. He was a star athlete in high school along with his brother Max Frederick and led Corner High School in Jefferson County to the Alabama state championship. He later attended Auburn University and holds the record as all-time leading rebounder with 14.3 rebounds per game average and his 904 career rebounds currently ranks fifth on the Tigers' all-time rebounding chart. In 2006, he became only the third Tiger to have his jersey (#32) retired.

Cherokee High School is located in Cherokee, Alabama and serves the western portion of Colbert County as part of the Colbert County School system. It is located along County Road 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Decatur High School (Decatur, Illinois)</span> Former school in Illinois

Stephen Decatur High School was a public high school in Decatur, Illinois, which existed from 1862 to 2000. Stephen Decatur High School was simply known as Decatur High School until 1957, when the city's only high school was joined by Lakeview High School, and MacArthur and Eisenhower High Schools, which were newly constructed to accommodate the student population that was exploding as a result of the post-World War 2 "baby boom".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred T. Long</span> American professional baseball player

Fred Thomas "Pop" "Pops" "Big" Long was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and a college football coach. He was the head football coach at four historically black colleges and universities in Texas between 1921 and 1965, compiling a career record of 224–145–31. He was the head coach at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, for 35 years from 1923 to 1947 and again from 1956 to 1965. He led the Wiley Wildcats football team to three black college football national championships, in 1928, 1932, and 1945.

Charles "Jock" Sutherland is a basketball coach from Lexington, Kentucky, who was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia High School (Georgia)</span> Magnet school and public school in Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States

Columbia High School (CHS) is a four-year public high school located in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It is in the Candler-McAfee census-designated place. It is operated by DeKalb County Public Schools.

Malcolm Laney was a head coach for the Alabama men's basketball team (1944–1945), the Alabama golf team (1952–1954) and an assistant coach for the Alabama football team (1944–1957). He was also the head football coach at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Alabama (1934–1943).

Paul Burnum was a coach of multiple sports at the University of Alabama, having served as head coach of the school's men's basketball and baseball teams and an assistant for the football team. He was also the head football coach at Tuscaloosa High School in the university's home city of Tuscaloosa, where he led the Black Bears to an undefeated record, five state championships and a pair of national championships during his five-year tenure there. After his career as a coach ended, Burnum worked in private business and served as a member of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. After his death in 1981, Burnum was posthumously inducted into Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Corner High School (CHS) is a four-year public high school in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Dora. It is one of fourteen high schools in the Jefferson County School System. School colors are black and gold, and the athletic teams are called the Yellowjackets. CHS competes in AHSAA Class 4A athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Jones (basketball)</span> American basketball player

Herbert Keyshawn Jones is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He earned third-team All-American honors as a senior in 2021, when he was also named the SEC Player of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dyke Smith</span> American football player and coach (1912–1986)

Frank Donald "Dyke" Smith was an American football player and coach. After playing two sports in college for Morris Brown, Smith coached a team in Georgia from 1937 to 1938, Cobb High School in 1939, Edward Waters University in 1940, Alabama A&M University in 1941, and Delaware State University in 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George H. Hobson</span> American athlete and sports coach (1908–2001)

George H. "Hoss" Hobson was an American athlete and sports coach. After playing college football for Alabama State, Hobson began a coaching career at several high schools, leading his teams to four state championships. In c. 1941, he began his tenure at Alabama A&M University, for which he was best known. He served as head football coach from 1942 to 1959, and was also the athletic director for many years. In the latter position, he revived the school's baseball team and added the sports of basketball, tennis, and golf, serving as the head coach of each for a time. Hobson later served as commissioner of the SIAC and was inducted into both the NACDA and Alabama A&M Halls of Fame.

References

  1. "Long Road Trip For Earl Morris". The Tuscaloosa News. August 9, 1981. Retrieved 7 May 2012.