Former Georgia Tech LB George Morris dies in North Carolina

Updated: December 10, 2007, 9:41 PM ET
Associated Press

ATLANTA -- George Morris, who starred at linebacker during Georgia Tech's perfect season in 1952 and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, died Monday. He was 76.

The school said Morris died in Highlands, N.C., from an apparent heart attack as he sat in his car outside a restaurant.

"Georgia Tech lost part of its heart and soul today," athletic director Dan Radakovich said. "George Morris represented everything that is good about Georgia Tech football. The pride that he felt in the institute and its athletic program saw no bounds."

Morris, a native of Vicksburg, Miss., played on Bobby Dodd-coached teams that went 23-0-1 in 1951 and '52. The Yellow Jackets were 12-0 in 1952, including a 24-7 victory over Mississippi in the Sugar Bowl, and were picked as national champion by several media services.

Michigan State was No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll.

After a brief stint in the NFL, Morris returned to Atlanta and began his own business, George Morris and Associates. He was an SEC football official from 1960-89 and more recently served as president of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation.

"We have truly lost one of the great ones," Radakovich said. "The entire Georgia Tech athletic community is in mourning."

Morris is survived by his wife, Polly, and five children.


Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

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