It's mid-November, and that can mean only one thing: the playoffs are here and the Grey Cup is near. With the pretenders set aside and the contenders ready to do battle, it is the most exciting time of the football season. But it's also the saddest time of year, because after November 24th, that's it. The CFL season is over.
The same is true for Ancient Mariners. There's just a bit of time to go in the 1996 season for new profiles, but like watching old movies on videotape, the Ancient Mariners will always be available on archives as long as this page exists.
As we head into the final weeks, let's take another look at the men who have made the Argo history and tradition such a rich and colourful one.
First up is a man who is in some very rare company, someone who has won three Grey Cups as a player (1933, '37 and '38) and the same amount as a coach (1945-47).
He is A.B. Morris, but everybody called him "Teddy"; like a big bear, he was ferocious and huggable at the same time. He was a man who gave 100 per cent on the field and gave no quarter as a player.
"Nobody gave 90 minutes of himself in every 60 minute game the way Ted did," was how legendary sports columnist Jim Coleman remembered Morris, who played as an elusive halfback and a mean linebacker from 1931-39, and was on the Argo all-star squad selected between the two World Wars (1921-41).
After the second World War, Morris came back as a coach and acquired the respect and admiration of his underlings, who gave their all for him.
"Teddy was more than a coach to me," said Royal Copeland, one of the famous "Gold Dust Twins" along with Joe Krol, who were vital clogs in Morris' Grey Cup-winning teams. "I knew him back in the Navy days, and he was a real dear friend. He would like us to play the way he would play, and of course, we respected him for what he had done. He was straight with people. He'd say things you wouldn't like, but you knew they were honest...I'd do anything for him, and he'd do anything for me."
His dedication to his players may have gone too far, which is what management was starting to feel. The Argos were the last team in the CFL to employ imports from the U.S., and they felt Morris was the main reason behind this ideology. It worked while they were still winning Grey Cups, but when they were unsuccessful in 1948 and 1949, Morris was let go.
He was so well-liked that his departure resulted in the departure of many players, including Copeland, to teams out west, because they had felt Morris was shafted by management. However, Morris did not go hungry afterwards, since many shrewd business deals involving real estate, including property in Malton near the airport, left him and his family fairly well off.
While he may have been unceremoniously let go by the Double Blue, Morris' vast accomplishments were still recognized with his induction into the CFL Hall-of-Fame in 1964.
This page, and all contents, are Copyright © 1996 by Toronto Argonauts Football Club, Toronto, Canada.