WHEREAS, William Speedy Morris, born April 26, 1942, has used his decades of coaching success on the basketball court to inspire his fans while also instilling values of leadership, diligence and the importance of academic excellence in the hearts and minds of each of his players; and
WHEREAS, Coach Morris
began his career as head basketball coach at St. John's Catholic Youth Organization in 1959. From there, he coached at Roman Catholic High School, William Penn Charter School, and for the La Salle University women and men's basketball teams. He is now about to
begin his 12th season as head coach at
St. Joseph's Preparatory School; and
WHEREAS, Coach Morris has posted 904 victories in 44 seasons of coaching, all in the Philadelphia area. He spent 27 seasons coaching at Roman Catholic, Penn Charter, and the Prep. He also spent 17 years in the college ranks with the La Salle women's and men's teams; and
WHEREAS, Among his many records, Coach Morris holds the distinction of being the winningest coach in the 93-year history of the Philadelphia Catholic League, the winningest coach in Philadelphia high school boys' history (623-169), the winningest head coach in La Salle University men's basketball history and led the Explorers to a record four NCAA tournament appearances; and
WHEREAS, Despite spending his record-breaking career coaching men's basketball, Coach Morris believes that two of the most important seasons of his career were the two he experienced coaching the women at La Salle, where he was 43-17 from 1984 through 1986. Indeed, he also holds the honor of being a pioneer for gender equality in athletics by becoming the first head basketball coach in NCAA history to coach both women's and men's collegiate teams; and
WHEREAS, Coach William Speedy Morris holds records of 347-82 during 14 seasons at Roman Catholic, 41-14 in two seasons at Penn Charter, 43-17 in two seasons as coach of the La Salle University women, 238-202 during 15 seasons as the coach of the La Salle men's team, and an ongoing record of 235-73 during 12 seasons at St. Joseph's Prep; and
WHEREAS, Beyond his many basketball victories, Coach William Speedy Morris has already been inducted into the Big Five Hall of Fame and remains a local hero; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby recognize the countless accomplishments of legendary local basketball coach William Speedy Morris, honor his commitment to the education and development of decades of young scholar-athletes, and call for his induction into the Naismith Memorial National Basketball Hall of Fame.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to William Speedy Morris as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
End