The Miami Dolphins announced on Sunday that Eugene “Mercury” Morris, who played a key role in the team’s two Super Bowl championships as a member of a stellar backfield in 1972, has passed away.
At the age of 77, Morris was selected to three Pro Bowls. He “left an indelible mark on the sport” according to a statement from his family.
“Beyond the field, Mercury was a devoted father, a loving brother, a loyal friend, and a pillar in the community,” his family wrote in the statement. “His presence extended far beyond football, as he touched the lives of many throughout his time in Miami.”
Along with Jim Kiick and Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Csonka, Morris was the starting halfback and one of the three go-to runners for Dolphins coach Don Shula during Miami’s back-to-back championship seasons in 1972 and 1973. Morris finished with an NFL-high 12 running touchdowns in 1972 and then 10 more in 1973, leading the Dolphins in that category both seasons.
“Morris left a lasting impact through his dynamic play, personality and record-breaking performances,” read part of a statement from the Dolphins on Sunday. “He loved the Dolphins, the fans and the community of South Florida and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest players to don the aqua and orange.”
Not only were those the greatest seasons in Dolphins history, but Morris’ eight-year career was also its finest during those 1972 and 1973 seasons. In 1972, he ran for a career-high 1,000 yards in the air; the next year, he added 954 more yards and the league-high 6.4 yards per carry.
Morris had an immediate effect on the Dolphins. He returned a kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown against Cincinnati in his 1969 rookie debut. That is still the longest in team history, and he also holds team records with his three career kick return touchdowns and his average of 26.5 yards per return.
“I think Shula gave everybody a different kind of direction and purpose being coached by this guy,” Morris said in 2008. “We were middle-class people and middle-class fans, and Shula was a blue-collar worker. And he had kind of a work ethic that really allowed you to see that if you work hard and you do what you’re supposed to do, then things are going to turn out for you — not all the time but you adjust to that and do what’s necessary to try to do as best you can.”
Morris never concealed how proud he was of the 1972 Dolphins for pulling off a perfect season and being the first (and, to this day, only) unbeaten and untied team in NFL history.
He also made an effort to clarify that the Dolphins were not cheering for the teams that nearly equalled their achievement and were not keeping champagne on hand in anticipation of the final game of the season in which the final undefeated team falls.
“And for the record, we DO NOT TOAST every time an unbeaten team loses,” Morris posted on social media in 2015 when the Cam Newton-led Carolina Panthers started 14-0 before losing the next-to-last game of their regular season. “There’s no champagne in my glass, only Canada Dry Ginger ale! Ha!”
There were moments when such a sense of humour was directed towards his beloved Dolphins. Amidst Miami’s 0-8 start in 2007 and eventual 0-13 start and 1-15 record, Morris shared another of his several noteworthy remarks.
“The Dolphins are not embarrassing me, because our record’s at the top of the heap,” Morris said. “That’s not my team. People say, ‘Your team is doing bad.’ I say, ‘My team all has AARP cards.’”
Morris attended West Texas A&M to play collegiate football. He was born and reared in Pittsburgh. In 1967, he trailed only O.J. Simpson in the country in rushing yards. The next season, he broke records by rushing for 3,571 yards in a season, 3,388 yards in a three-year career, and 340 yards in a game versus Montana State.
Following the conclusion of his football career, Morris faced several personal difficulties. Most notably, he was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 1982 and given a 20-year jail sentence. He challenged the verdict, acknowledging that he had taken cocaine but never sold it, partly as a way to manage multiple chronic injuries. The Florida Supreme Court reversed his conviction in 1986, and Morris went on to become a motivational speaker who urged people not to use drugs.
“Was I bitter? Not really,” Morris wrote in his book “Against The Grain,” published in 1998. “I would not recommend three days in jail to anyone, much less three years. But I must be honest: I needed to go through what I did to develop the character I had when I became a free man.”
In 2013, Morris became a member of the Dolphins Hall of Fame. After Csonka (6,737), Ricky Williams (6,436), and Ronnie Brown (4,815), he is still fourth on the team’s all-time rushing list with 3,877 yards.
Said Csonka: “It’s a very sad day for me and our Dolphin family.”
