Paul Morris (PA announcer)

Last updated
Paul Morris
Born
Paul Morris

(1938-06-20) June 20, 1938 (age 86)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupationpublic address announcer
Years active1961–1999

Paul Morris (born June 20, 1938) [1] [2] is the former public address announcer for the Toronto Maple Leafs and sound engineer at Maple Leaf Gardens. He held the announcing job for 38 seasons, from October 14, 1961 to May 31, 1999 and was the PA announcer for 1,585 consecutive Leaf games. Morris was known for his dispassionate, monotone voice, [3] instantly recognizable to two generations of Leaf fans.

Morris's father, Doug Morris, was an electrician at Maple Leaf Gardens from its opening in 1931. [4] Paul Morris began working at the Gardens in the summer of 1958 while a student at the Ryerson Institute of Technology. He quit school and stayed at the Gardens, becoming PA announcer three years later [5] when Red Barber was fired. [6] Barber had been the team's PA announcer from 1931 until 1961. [7] He was fired after mistakenly introducing Lester B. Pearson, who was dropping the puck during a game's opening ceremony, as "Lister Beer Pearson". [8]

During his tenure at the Gardens, Morris, along with Bob Wood, designed and assembled the modern four-sided scoreboard that was used between 1966 and 1982. [9]

When the team moved from the Gardens to the Air Canada Centre in February 1999, Morris was not given a full-time job at the new building. [6] Instead, he was offered $300 a game to continue as announcer. He finished the season and then retired at age 61. Andy Frost was hired as his successor in September.

At the Leafs' 1999-2000 home-opener on October 4, 1999, Morris was honoured during a pre-game ceremony and in the third period announced "last minute of play in this period" one last time. Since then Morris’s "last minute of play" is played on occasion at Leafs home games. He is considered the standard by which most PA announcers are judged and has been widely known as the most memorable of his position.

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References

  1. ↑ McGran, Kevin (July 16, 2016). "The voices of seasons: The men behind the microphone at Maple Leafs games". The Toronto Star. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  2. ↑ @Berger_BYTES (20 June 2017). "Happy 79th b-day to the legendary P.A. voice of Maple Leaf Gardens, Paul Morris. "Toronto goal scored by No. 14..."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Morris' stately monotone part of Gardens decorum," Jim Proudfoot, Toronto Star , January 17, 1996, p. E3.
  4. ↑ "An unsung hero and what he did for the Gardens," Jim Proudfoot, Toronto Star , October 31, 1981, p. D1.
  5. ↑ "Voice of the Gardens may not move to ACC," Paul Hunter, Toronto Star , October 21, 1998, p. 1.
  6. 1 2 "Voice of the Gardens bids a fond farewell: Paul Morris moves on after more than 38 years with Leafs," Hamilton Spectator , September 1, 1999. p. F5.
  7. ↑ McGran, Kevin (July 16, 2016). "The voices of seasons: The men behind the microphone at Maple Leafs games". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  8. ↑ Hornby, Lance (November 9, 2021). "90 years of Maple Leaf Gardens memories". Toronto Sun. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  9. ↑ "The Story of Maple Leaf Gardens: 100 Memories at Church and Carlton", Sports Publishing, Inc., 1998, pp. 115-116.
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