Jim O'Donnell: Johnny Morris on the edge of age 90 — his dual legacies still hold
Every time the Bears have the football, their receivers are still chasing Johnny Morris.
Once upon a time it was fleet people like Dick Gordon and then Willie Gault and later Curtis Conway on through Alshon Jeffrey.
The current stock — looming bolder than ever following Sunday's 31-14 dismantling of the Cowboys — is now headed by Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore and Luther Burden III.
But there, still atop 'em all, is Morris — ol' No. 47, with 5,059 career receiving yards during a memorable, multifaceted 10 seasons as a Bear (1958-67).
Morris will celebrate his 90th birthday Friday. That number is almost as astonishing as the staying power of his yardage number. He is hale, generally healthy and more private than ever.
“(Betting) the ponies keeps me alive,” said Morris, long a fan of the forever baffling intellectual pursuit known as thoroughbred-race handicapping.
Most wagering is done from his home, behind the gates of a tony northwest suburban community. Contemporary transmission of live racing remains a focal point. His public forays are for the most part limited to a handful of nearby restaurants and increasingly rare visits to an OTB.
If his achievements as a Bear — an authentic, dyed-in-the-leather George Halas Bear — weren't enough to secure his place in the Chicago sports pantheon, his TV broadcast career certainly cinched it.
From a modest startup as an apprentice morning sportsman on WBBM-Channel 2 in 1964 until his retirement at the station in 1994, Morris willed himself to become king of that hill.
Some — like Brent Musburger — came and leapfrogged on to grander things national.
Others — including Tim Weigel, Chet Coppock and Mark Giangreco — dropped anchor and battled.
But Johnny was always the lead pony, the standard of excellence that the others ferociously chased.
His “feud” with Weigel — who died in 2001 — was the stuff of local television legend.
Morris, the California son of a plasterer born in Greece, could consistently work up a legitimate froth at the specter of competing with the Yale-educated Weigel.
From his seat, Weigel was constantly “droppin' em” at the intensity of Morris' no-quarter professional fight.
A landmark moment in the battle came on a Monday night in December 1988 when Mike Ditka's Bears got stomped by the favored Los Angeles Rams 23-3 at Anaheim Stadium.
Because of a quirk in “MNF” timing, both Morris' Channel 2 10 o'clock news and Weigel's at WLS-Channel 7 were live in the locker room for postgame interviews.
Jim Harbaugh had endured a spotty night as Bears QB.
Still, he gracefully agreed to stand for Weigel as producer Larry Snyder counted down the seconds via audio cue from Chicago.
Suddenly, Channel 2 producer Bobby Vasilopoulos — Morris' ace “Secret Squirrel” — swooped over and yanked Harbaugh live on-air for their home audience.
Weigel was stuck to ad-lib while Johnny carried on, victorious in the moment.
Later, Weigel called the late-night hot line of the Daily Herald's sports-people columnist. He opened by saying, “You're not going to believe what the Greek just did.”
What the Greek did made for a dandy lead item in Wednesday morning's column.
Jonathon Brandmeier, then in full ascent as morning man at WLUP-FM (97.9), took the lead and sprinted with it.
That morning, he had Weigel on for extended minutes and “failed” in attempts to get Morris and Harbaugh on the phone.
Matter closed?
With Morris' competitive spirit, hardly.
That afternoon, the telephone of the Daily Herald columnist rang.
It was Johnny, speaking with the tone of a Mob debt collector:
“OK, you and your little buddy have had a lot of fun with what happened Monday night. It’s not my fault if Tim Weigel can’t vamp. But now I'm going to read you a statement, you're going to write it down as I speak and read it back to me word for word and it's going to be the first item in your tomorrow column.
“Do I make myself understood?”
Morris did. “No” was not an option.
Lives went on, to the point that Weigel eventually followed Morris as lead sports anchor on Channel 2 six years later.
The retirement of the ex-Bear has been a contented one. He suffered the great loss of his life in December 2020 when Jeannie Morris — his soulmate and professional partner and inspiration — died.
He has said: “She was the love of my life and the one who made so much happen. Her instincts as a journalist and talent as a writer were incredible. She gave me confidence when I needed it most.”
So Johnny Morris will celebrate his 90th birthday Friday.
Multiple fan bases have reason to toast.
And young pups like Odunze, Moore and Burden III can continue to chase, chase, chase.
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.