Morris becomes Catholic League’s winningest coach

As it turns out, coach William "Speedy" Morris is not in complete control of all aspects of St. Joseph's Prep's basketball program.

School officials know a crimson-letter day when they see one, and they were not about to let it get go unnoticed.

Morris, 561-146 in only 24 seasons, is now the winningest coach in Catholic League history. And PA announcer Andrew Whelan informed the folks of that feat moments after the final buzzer concluded Monday's 55-38 CL success over visiting Cardinal O'Hara.

With 1 minutes left, Whalen had been handed a sheet of paper by Bill Avington, the Prep's communications director and the nephew of Dan and Larry Avington, twin-brother starters for Morris' first squad at Roman Catholic in the 1967-68 season.

As the Hawks passed the ball from player to player over the last 40-odd seconds, declining to add to their lead, Morris stood in front of the bench, lightly touching his chin.

Surely, he was thinking about some of the spectacular wins, or the championships, or the great players, or the amazing path he'd followed to reach this milestone.

"I was just glad it was over," Morris said. "O'Hara was lights-out in the first quarter."

Really? That was his thought?

"I don't like to make a big deal of this stuff," he said. "As little fanfare as possible. I mean, I'm honored, but . . . It's about the kids."

Not Monday.

Morris went 347-82 in 14 seasons at Roman (1968-81) and he's now 214-64 in 10 at the Prep. He also was 41-14 in two seasons at Penn Charter (1983-84), of the Inter-Ac League, making his scholastic numbers 602-160 (.790).

The old CL mark belonged to Harry "Bud" Gardler, 560-413 in 38 seasons at the old Bishop Kenrick (1969-75) and O'Hara (1977-2008). The previous standard-bearer was Bill Fox, 545-269 in 29 seasons at Father Judge (1975-85, 1987-99, 2001-05), and Fox had broken the mark of the man who'd coached him at La Salle High, Charles "Obie" O'Brien (541-248 in 34 seasons; 1935-41 and 1944-70).

Morris mentioned that he always had great respect for Gardler's coaching abilities, and that the two, with their wives, had gone on double dates during Gardler's time at Kenrick.

Morris recalled the first CL coaches' meeting he ever attended, and how one guy said he wanted the CL to stop playing Friday night games "so the coaches could take their wives shopping." Another hollered from across the room, "Ah, you just want to go to the bar!"

He also thought back to his first Roman game, which produced a 66-53 win at Archbishop Wood behind double-figure scoring from John Proud (18), Larry Storm (15), Keith Coady (13) and Steve Collins (12).

"Wood's coach was Warren Winterbotton," Morris recalled. "I remember thinking, 'He was a player at Villanova. I'm going against him?' . . . And then on the bus ride back, I was thinking how proud my dad [Charles] would have been; he died when I was in the eighth grade."

Morris, 68, a 1960 Roman grad, grew up in Manayunk and has lived forever in Roxborough. He was not a star student ("My best class was typing") and upon graduation was hired as a clerk-typist at the old Midvale-Heppenstall Steel Co. His love for X's and O's was intense and, after making a name for himself on the youth circuit, he was hired as Roman's JV coach for the 1966-67 campaign.

Speedball brought much glory to Broad and Vine. His teams won six CL crowns and the 1974 City Championship, and the 3 years from 1978-80 yielded 94 wins!

But in July 1981, he was fired by the school's principal, the Rev. Edward B. Cahill, for what he termed "personal differences in application of policy over a period of time." He refused to be more specific.

The media firestorm was intense. Even the local TV stations paid great attention. Within a month, Cahill was being reassigned to a Philly parish and a board composed of five CL principals was recommending that Roman rehire Morris. Didn't happen.

He spent the 1981-82 season as a behind-the-scenes assistant to Monsignor Bonner coach Ed Stefanski, who's now the 76ers' general manager.

"If not for Eddie, I don't know that I would have continued in coaching," said Morris, who, after Monday's game, posed for midcourt pictures - the whole scene was quite understated - with his players, assistants and the school president, the Rev. George W. Bur. "People were telling me, 'You're done. Forget about it.' That year lifted my spirits. Eddie was just getting involved in the mortgage business, so sometimes I'd even run practice."

Penn Charter welcomed him back into the head-coaching fold, and there he was able to coach his oldest son, Keith, now one of his assistants. Next were stints at La Salle University as the women's coach (1985-86; 43-17) and men's coach (1987-2001, 238-203).

"I was so lucky to be a head coach in college ball without a degree," he said. "That would never happen now. I only did 1 year of night school at St. Joe's, and probably got all D's.

"This was in '73. I had three kids [under age 5]. I'd go to work before they got up, then coach and go to school, and they were asleep by the time I got home. I never saw them."

Morris said he was offered the La Salle's men's job right before he coached the women to a win over St. Peter's for the '86 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title.

"But I was told not to say anything to anybody," he noted. "Not even [wife] Mimi. Imagine that. I'm coaching the women in a title game knowing I'm going to be the men's coach."

After the men's ride ended with another termination, Morris wound up at the Prep, and he says, "I've been happier here than anywhere I've ever been." He then added, "You know, I almost didn't take this job."

Reason?

"I heard stories that the parents here had too much to say," he said. "I was assured by Jim Murray [still the athletic director] that he and the principal made the decisions. That was all I needed to hear.

"Because I got appendicitis, I couldn't meet with the kids for about a month. When that happened, co-captains Jim Good and Mike Harbrick were staring at me [in awe]. I figured we'd go forward just fine."

The '03 and '04 squads won championships.

Morris said he remains on the job "because I love the interaction with the kids. I've had so many great ones [as people]. Some of my best friends are former players. I've been to their weddings. To their kids' confirmations/graduations. Lots of great memories.

"There have been some bad ones, too, but they've been way, way, way outweighed."

After Morris recently bagged his 600th high school win, he told the Daily News he could picture coaching two to three more seasons, health permitting.

"I figured that had to be a misquote," Keith Morris said, laughing. "I see him going for a while. He has too much fun here. He loves the kids. Only 2 to 3 more years would be a shocker to me.

"He coached in college, of course, but I think he has always been more about the high school kids. You can spend more time with them. Take them to a Big 5 game. Buy them a cheesesteak with no violation. You can have more of an impact on their lives, as well as teach them the game.

"The La Salle jobs gave him the ability to put us through college, but his heart of hearts has always favored this level, where you're more of a teacher on and off the court."

Stephen Vasturia (25; he has made 69 consecutive free throws), Gene Williams (15) and Miles Overton (10) reached double figures in scoring for the Prep. Mike Fee and Mike Levy also started, while Kevin Oberlies and James Stewart were part of the seven-man rotation.

Morris, of course, still does not miss a trick.

Late in the third quarter, as the Hawks held for a last shot, he noticed a player bent over to the side of the foul lane.

"Get your hands off your knees!" he barked. "Look like you want to play!"

His attention to detail is never-ending.

"He's a student of the game. Even to this day," Keith Morris said. "You'll still see him reading other coaches' books or watching their videos. He believes if you stop trying to learn, it's time for it to be over. He's never been big enough to believe there's something he doesn't know."

After so much success, that mindset should not surprise. *