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Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1980
- Class:
- 1962
John E. Morris III '62
Hometown: Kingston, PA
Sport: Swimming & Diving
Year Inducted: 1980
John E. Morris III ’62 was welcomed to Brown by his coach, Joe Watmough, as the man who would break all of the school’s distance swimming records. And he did. The high school All-American from Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa., won seven dual meets during his freshman year, broke Cub records in the 200, 220, and 440, and was a double winner in the New Englands, taking the 220 and 440. His sophomore season was more of the same – doubles against such teams as Columbia, Navy, and Harvard in his specialty and two more New England championships in the 220 and 440. Morris set a new Brown record for the 440 with a 4:58, breaking Win Wilson’s (’51) time of 5:00.5. He also shattered the 220 mark with a 2:16.6. The 1960-61 team was one of Coach Joe Watmough’s best. It posted an 8-4 record, won the New Englands, and featured a man named John Morris who was still breaking records. He got his 220 down to 2:11.5 and his 440 time to 4:46.8 that year. Elected captain of the 1961-62 team, John Morris set a new Brown record with a 4:37.3 in the 440 at MIT. He won the 440 in the New Englands (his third New England crown), came in second in the Easterns in the 1,500 and fifth in the 440, and was All-Ivy and All-American. “John was a fine leader, to go along with his ability in the tank,” Coach Watmough said. “He was so outstanding that Bob Kipputh of Yale invited him to swim for the New Haven Swim Club in the summer of 1961, where John was outstanding while going against some of the best competition in the nation.” John Morris is a senior attorney at United Penn Bank in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and lives in Dallas, Pa., with his wife, Claire.
