Transcript

Derek Smith:

Hello, and welcome to Baylor Connections, a conversation series with the people shaping our future. Each week, we go in depth with Baylor leaders, professors, and more. I'm Derek Smith, and our guest today is the Voice of the Bears, John Morris. John Morris will begin his 34th year announcing for Baylor athletics this fall, and just recently celebrated his 25th season as the signature Voice of the Bears. In January, he was selected as the 2019 Texas Coast Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association, making him just the second Texas announcer or earn the award while serving a university and the first to earn the honor outside of one of the state's four largest media markets of DFW, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. A 1980 Baylor graduate, John quickly began working in the local media with KWTX before working with, and eventually taking over for, longtime Baylor broadcaster, Frank Fallon. Officially, his title is assistant AD for broadcasting, but to all of us, he's the Voice of the Bears. John Morris, thank you so much for coming on the program today. I've want to do this for a while, and it's great to have you here.

John Morris:

Well, Derek, this fulfills a dream of mine for a long time for you and I to get together in this format. So I appreciate you having me on, and I'm going to enjoy the conversation with you.

Derek Smith:

Well, me too. I'll try to ask you some questions that I haven't asked you before. Hopefully, some questions that other people have wondered too. But this year certainly got off to an exciting start, when we heard about the news that you received the Texas Sportscaster of the Year award back in January, how and when did you learn about that, and how did you react when you found out?

John Morris:

That's a good story. First, I was just flabbergasted. I found out in November, I guess, that I was a finalist, and I felt like I'd already won, just being a finalist with the likes of Craig Way and Brad Sham and Eric Nadel and Dale Hansen from Channel 8 in Dallas. To be in that group, just to be on that list, I felt like I'd already won and never in my wildest dreams considered actually winning or sharing the award this year. But man, I can remember when I got the news, it was a Saturday and Terri and I were out running some errands. She was in a store, I was sitting in a car and my phone rang and I looked down and the caller ID said, Dave Goran. And Dave is the executive director for the National Sports Media Association. And I thought for a second and I thought, "I bet he doesn't call everybody that doesn't win." So I answered the call and Dave gave me the news and it was just, it was terrific. And then Terri came out and I teared up. I mean, more than teared up, I was crying because in this state to be honored in that way, in this group, it's very, very humbling is the word that I keep saying. And I think it's accurate. So it means a lot to me. It really does.

Derek Smith:

What has been the coolest part of that? Was it sharing it with your family or there was I know a really neat moment at a game, I believe it was in January, shortly thereafter when they announced it to the Ferrell Center crowd and you got a nice ovation. What what moment for you has been the coolest with this?

John Morris:

Well, sharing it with the family and then helping them to realize the stature of this and that's not me. I mean, that's the NSMA and just in this state, in the state of Texas, where there's so many men and women in the business that I respect so much, to just even be on that list means a lot. And then David Kay and fan engagement did surprise me at a basketball game. You were there. They made the announcement and had the camera on us sitting over there. And it was a really nice reaction from the crowd. And again, very, very humbling. And I was shocked. I didn't know that was coming, but I did gather my senses enough to point over to my wife, pointed to Terri on the far side of the court. And I pointed up to Frank's banner. If people said, "What's he pointing that up there?" It was Frank's banner. Because I wouldn't be where I am without him. So kind of shared that moment with him.

Derek Smith:

Well, and I want to ask you about him here in a little bit, because I know how much he's meant to you and what a great broadcaster he was for so many years here at Baylor. And that award certainly, I think is another feather in the cap for the great broadcast history here at Baylor that you and others have done. But I'm curious, that was a bright spot for you at the beginning of the year. Little did we know that 2020 would just have all kinds of surprises for us all. And I'm curious, so you got that award and within about a month there weren't games to broadcast. The last three months, obviously with COVID-19, there haven't been games, the cancellation of sports, and it's been tough in a lot of ways, but I'm curious for you what have you missed the most, but what have you also been able to enjoy the most? Things you wouldn't normally be able to do in the spring?

John Morris:

Sure. Well, it was tough when we got the news and it was the right decision. There was no other decision to be made, really, than to just cancel what was a great Baylor basketball season, and it ended. We were in Kansas City when we got the news of the Big 12 tournament, and it just ended just like that and then found out that there would be no NCA tournament also. I really felt worst for the guys on the men's team and the girls on the women's team who were seniors, who their season was over, just like that. The women had a really good shot to go to the Final Four and defend their national championship. And this men's team had arguably the best regular season in school history, and were really looking forward to the NCA tournament and beyond that too. Had a good chance to get to the Final Four. I think. I think Baylor would have been a number one seed, both men's and women's. So that was the toughest part. Just the season came to an end so abruptly, and those guys and girls didn't get to finish out such great careers on great teams. The flip side of that was the best part, or the good side, the silver lining was all of a sudden we're working from home, and I find myself with a lot more time at home with my wife and kids and made a lot of things that I do, just made them work from home, like you did and are still doing. But that was a silver lining. A lot more time at home and we've made it work to the best that we can.

Derek Smith:

Visiting with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris here on Baylor Connections. And John, you mentioned your family, you mentioned Terri. I think people know you have deep Baylor roots, but you're far from the only Baylor grad in your family. And I know those roots can go back pretty far to your home state of Kentucky. Tell us a little bit about your Baylor family history, if you will.

John Morris:

Yeah. I'd love to. My mom and dad went to Baylor, that's where they met, was here in Waco, at Baylor. My dad was a religion major and when he graduated, they got married and he went to the seminary, Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Most who graduate from Baylor, because of the proximity, go to Southwestern Seminary in Fort worth, but he went to Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and that's where I was born. And so that's how we got to Kentucky. And he pastored various churches around in Louisville and Winchester and Somerset and Danville is where we kind of settled. And I was in Danville from the fifth grade on, until I graduated from high school. Great, All-American city, Danville, Kentucky, and I'm proud of my Kentucky roots because that helped shape me. But when I started looking for a school to go to after high school, I knew about Baylor from my parents, came down and visited and really just loved it. From the first visit, I really loved it. So I came a thousand miles away from home, didn't know anybody in Waco, but it worked out great. A great career, a great time as a student at Baylor and then great life since then, met my wife here at Baylor, all three of our kids have Baylor degrees. So it worked out very well. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Derek Smith:

That's great. And you mentioned your three kids who went here and as you've had daughters meet their future husbands and get married, those was Baylor roots keep on extending. Maybe people don't know that your son-in-law Ty Beard with basketball program probably adds to the excitement you feel, your whole family feels, when Baylor wins.

John Morris:

Absolutely. Oh yeah, man. Really proud for him and the job he's doing on Coach Drew's staff. So, very proud of him. And then Maddie, our middle daughter is married to Art Wellborn, a lot of people listening will know him from First Woodway. He's associate worship pastor there at First Woodway. So a lot of Baylor through our family and hope it continues with the grandkids.

Derek Smith:

Absolutely. Going back, John, a little bit, whether Kentucky OR somewhere in Texas, what was the first sporting event that you ever announced?

John Morris:

Ooh, good question. First time I was ever on the air really was at the small station in Danville, it's WHIR. It was, at that time, kind of a AM station, FM automated station, but it was the only one in town. And I like to call the name of and give credit to a guy named Steve Bertram who really fanned the flame of interest in broadcasting for me. Steve was the guy who did a shift on the air, but then he did all the sports. And Steve went to our church there in Kentucky and he would let me hang around, and I really got interested in broadcasting because of him. And he was, so as I look back on it, I think I wasn't doing anything. I wasn't helping him one bit. But he let me hang around and make me think that I was helping somehow. And that meant a lot to me then, and then it means even more to me now. So I appreciate that. And did some air shifts there. That was just on the air, mostly working at night at WHIR and running Reds games, and that was fun. But then on the air doing a sporting event was probably high school football here in Waco on the air. Although when I was in school, KWBU was all student run and so we got to do everything. We programmed the station and we did sports that weren't being done commercially. And the only ones being done commercially over the air was football and men's basketball. So we did whatever we wanted beyond that. I remember doing volleyball and baseball and women's basketball, I think even some softball at that time. So we got to do all of those, and then in 1984, Frank asked me to fill in for him on Baylor basketball broadcasts when he had a conflict on Saturdays when he was doing Southwest Conference TV games. So I started doing those games pretty much every Saturday during the season. So those are the ones that I remember going back, the earliest broadcasts.

Derek Smith:

Wow. Well, and obviously I know Frank played such a huge role as you mentioned too earlier in shaping your career. He announced Baylor games for over 40 years from the fifties into the nineties. Tell us about him. For those of us who didn't get to hear him, you got to work alongside him, hear him in the actual game calls. What should we know about him? I ask you first as a broadcaster and then as a person.

John Morris:

He was absolutely the best. I mean, he had great voice. He had great God-given talent, but on top of that, he would prepare so well and work so hard to make the broadcast as good as it could be and to represent Baylor in such a professional way. He was just the best. I mean, he was so well respected around the state of Texas and in the Southwest Conference and really around the nation. Everybody just had great respect for Frank as a broadcaster and then more so as a person. He was just such a gentleman. He did everything in a first-class manner and, again, represented Baylor so well. He always had an eye toward students, helping them or younger broadcasters. I can't tell you the number of times that he would talk to, or listen to a tape of a student or somebody else, and he would always take time to do that. And I was one of them in that group also. So just a first-class individual and a top notch broadcaster, who is absolutely the best I've ever heard.

Derek Smith:

If you could just listen to one aspect of him calling a game,?what's one thing you miss that you would love to hear him do again, whether it's his descriptions or excitement, what's something that you enjoyed the most about listening to him?

John Morris:

Oh man. All of those really, just his inflection was really, really good, and you could hear his voice rising for a big moment, and you knew it was a big moment if Frank got excited about it. But then, just the way he, whether it was a good close game or whether it was a blowout, he was just so professional in the way he presented a broadcast, and that doesn't happen by accident. There's a lot of work that goes into that. And now I know how much work he put, I think I know, how much work he put in to each and every one of those. And we all benefited by being able to hear it.

Derek Smith:

What was it like for you as you began working alongside him to work with someone of his stature?

John Morris:

Well, first thing is, I had to quit calling him Mr. Fallon. And he said "You can call me Frank." And I said, "I don't know if I can do that." Again, because I just had so much respect for him. And, Derek, I could take you to the spot on the floor in the heart of Texas Coliseum, where we were standing one day watching Baylor basketball practice, and he just very casually said, "I think I'd like for you to work with me on football next year, or this year." This was in the winter of 1987, he said this year. And I just kind of stopped, and it was kind of a moment that I'll never forget because it meant so much to me. And I said, "What are you going to do? How are you going to make the change?" And he said, "I'll take care of that." Said, "I'd just like to have another broadcaster up there with me." And I said, "Man, I will do it, absolutely. Put me down and thank you very much for asking." So there was an aspect of respecting him so much that I called him Mr. Fallon, but I had to get past that because I had a job to do working with him also. And he had faith in me that I could do that job. So I had to make myself get past that to do the best that I could do, and it was always a challenge to try to prepare as well as he did or out prepare him. I never did it, but it was always a goal of mine in the challenge to be as prepared as he was for every broadcast.

Derek Smith:

This is Baylor Connections, we are visiting with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris, 2019, Texas Coast Sportscaster of the Year. And so John, you worked with Frank for several years, and then after he retired, took over in 1995 as the Voice of the Bears. During that time, those 25 years, you've called Baylor athletics through some pretty distinct areas. Some that featured a lot of wins thankfully, as of late, and some that didn't. And I'm curious, what did you learn in those lean years that made the winning more special? And also did those lean years make you a better broadcaster?

John Morris:

Yeah, I mean, I think they did because you had to do, or I felt like I had to do the same job every broadcast, whether we won the game or not. We just wanted to do the best broadcast that we could. Craig Harper was our engineer for 25 years, and now Bob Baker's in that role, and we all just wanted to make it the best broadcast we could. It's more fun to win for broadcasters, for fans, for players, for coaches. It's more fun to win, there's no question about that, but you can't say, "All right, I'll have a good broadcast when the team plays better." You just can't do that. Because we went through a stretch there where in football it was lean for a few years and then basketball had a stretch like that too. But I think it did sort of train you to be more prepared. Again, I got that from Frank and be prepared for whatever unfolded with the game. If it was a great game, that took care of itself with the broadcast. If it wasn't a good close game and Baylor didn't win, you still had to be prepared enough to do a good broadcast. So yes, to answer your question, I think it did make me better and makes you appreciate the wins also, having been through some of those tough years.

Derek Smith:

Well, the last decade we've seen success, really a run unlike any other in Baylor history. Were there moments for you, you think back with the men's basketball program, football, 2010, the men's basketball team going to the Elite Eight, were there moments along the way, was a specific game or a specific moment where you ever thought, "Boy, I think the tide's turning here. I think things are a little bit different than they used to be."

John Morris:

Yeah, sure. I mean, you mentioned 2010, men's basketball that year to the Elite Eight playing Duke for a shot to go to the Final Four and the games in Houston, the regional games in Houston, when there were so many Baylor fans there, that's just a memory that I'll cherish forever. And we beat St. Mary's pretty good in the Sweet 16 game. And then we're matched up against Duke for a trip to the Final Four. And that game leading into that Duke game, people kept saying, "All right, you got a call ready? You got your Final Four call ready?" And I thought, "Oh man, they're right. We win this game, that's going to be a call that's going to be played and replayed forever. So yeah, I better make sure I've got something ready to go there." But we didn't win the game, played, well, there's a blocked charge call that's another conversation for another day.

Derek Smith:

Yeah, for sure.

John Morris:

But it sure was fun to have that many Baylor people there at what was then Reliant Stadium in Houston. So that was one of them. And that that's just symbolic of what Coach Drew has done with men's basketball and Kim Mulkey with women's basketball and the football. The football decade that we just finished has to be the best in Baylor history, just for consistent winning through the decade. And so many big games and big moments in football through the past decade also.

Derek Smith:

Is there a favorite moment or two for you from football that stand out that will be just some that you always just really especially bring a smile to your face when you think about them?

John Morris:

Yeah. I mean, yeah, there's a bunch, there really are. But just for our crew to be together, and you're a part of that, but just for our crew to be a part of those big moments are huge. This wasn't this past decade, but 2004 to beat A&M and overtime. Baylor had lost 19 straight years to A&M and won the game on a two-point conversion in overtime at what was then a Floyd Casey Stadium, and that was huge. 2013, the win over Texas to close Floyd Casey Stadium. That was huge and win the Big 12 at the same time. I mean, that was just a huge moment and a lot wrapped up into that game. The win over Oklahoma in 2011 at Floyd Casey stadium. Rob's Heisman Trophy, Heisman moment, really to come back and win that game. So those are a few. Beat Kansas State to clinch Big 12 title in 2014. Those are a few along the way. Thankfully, it's a long list. And I remember those wins, those big wins a lot more than I remember the other direction.

Derek Smith:

That's good. That's good. Well, a lot to pick from here as we visit with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris. And John, as we head into the final few minutes of the program, I want to ask you a little bit if people are curious about how you get ready for a game. Let's just focus on football. On a typical football week in the fall, let's just say we're about to play Oklahoma, how much preparation and what goes into your preparation to be ready for that game broadcast?

John Morris:

People ask that sometimes, "How long does it take you to prepare?" And the answer is, "As long as I have." Because you're preparing, really, every waking moment in some way, and even just being at work, sitting at my desk, and walking down the hall, run into a coach, talk to them, I mean, that's preparation for the game. So I'm fortunate that I work in the athletic department and I am on the other side of the building from our football staff, and so do get to have those casual conversations with them that are very, very insightful and learn a lot from them. But on a football week, for football, it's one game a week, so you've got all week to prepare. Press conference is usually on Monday, player interviews, watching, practice, making notes, doing the spotting board, getting that done, and then just adding notes to that over the course of the week. And then get the coach's pregame interview, players' pregame interview, usually on Thursdays. It's kind of an ongoing, constant process to get ready when you've got the whole week to get ready for a football broadcast.

Derek Smith:

Well, and as we move into the fall, further into the fall, you start adding other sports. Baylor's a contract with ESPN+ has you broadcasting on TV and on the web, men's and women's basketball on TV, volleyball, acrobatics and tumbling. When you get into the spring, you add baseball and softball. And that's certainly one way, it seems like broadcasting has changed, is there's more online like that. But for you, how are you able to stay on top of all of those? Because that's a lot of different names and numbers and teams and sports to have on your plate and to get to know and do them so well like you do.

John Morris:

Well, thank you. I'm not sure that I do stay on top of them all.

Derek Smith:

You do.

John Morris:

But it's fun. It's a challenge. I mean, I love being a part of the other sports. I do football and men's basketball radio every game, but then the others, to be able to work with the other sports and the other coaches it's a real blessing, it really is. To be able to work with them and do that with these TV broadcasts. And it's just sort of, I think, I guess I've learned to compartmentalize. You get ready for whatever game broadcast is coming up next. And it might be a women's basketball on a Tuesday and acrobatics and tumbling on a Wednesday and volleyball on a Thursday and then men's basketball and football on the weekend. I guess you just, again, use the time that you have to get ready for those and compartmentalize what you need to do, spend the time that you need to do to get ready.

Derek Smith:

Visiting with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris. And as we had in the final couple of moments of the program, John, ask you a final couple of questions. When people listen to you call a game, whether they're Baylor fans or not, what do you hope that they take away from it? What do you hope are kind of some of the signatures that you're aiming for when people listen to a Baylor game you call?

John Morris:

I hope they can follow where the ball is. I hope they can follow the action and we do a good enough job in doing that. But also, I feel a real, it's not a burden, but I think it's on my shoulders to represent Baylor the best that that Baylor deserves. So I think that's a big part of it. I mean, I love Baylor, it's my alma mater and I've worked here for a while now, and I just want to put Baylor and our student athletes and our coaches in the best light possible. And if I'm overly optimistic about things, so be it. That's the way that I want to present it. And again, just want to put Baylor and our student athletes and our coaches in the best light because they deserve that. We've got a lot of good things here at Baylor and I just want to do my part to help shine the light on that.

Derek Smith:

Well, you absolutely do that. And you've done so in a way that, as we talked about at the top of the show, has earned recognition from your peers. And that's something that, I didn't mention, this is in a lot of ways, this is from your peers in the broadcast industry, your Texas Coast Sportscaster of the Year award honoring the work you've done here at Baylor, certainly in the last year, but it really goes beyond that. You mentioned this a little bit at the top of the show, but I'll ask you in closing, some of the state's most legendary broadcasters, some names that even non-sports fans in some cases, like Vern Lundquist or Brad Sham, longtime Cowboys announcer, they have their names on that list. Eric Nadel who does the Rangers. What does it mean to you to have your name on that roll call of the best of the state has to offer? And even just know that years from now, people will look at that list and there'll be new broadcasters that come along, but your name's there with some of the greats.

John Morris:

Well, again, tremendously humbling, it really is. Because I respect those guys so much. When I get a text or a note from Brad Sham that says, "Congratulations, you deserve it." What's that worth? That just means the world to me, because I have so much respect for him and everybody on that list. I mean, that is a great list. I mean, this is a great state and the broadcasters that have come through here and the ones that are here now, it is a long list of guys and girls who are qualified to win this award. So again, to be even on that list with them, mentioned in the same breath with some of those people, it's very, very humbling. And again, I think I would give credit to a Baylor and Baylor athletics. If we're playing games and not winning games, not that many people are listening. If we're winning, more people are listening. And I think that helps with the recognition factor. So a big part of this is the success of Baylor athletics during the past year also.

Derek Smith:

Well, there are a lot of good things happening and your award is part of that, very well deserved. I know we're proud to see your name on that list and well-deserved. But again, hopefully so you mentioned you were going to get to go this summer to receive the award in North Carolina, but that's going to be next year now.

John Morris:

Yeah, exactly. Of all years they don't have the awards banquet. They do a great deal, they have you there, it's in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for a weekend, and everybody that I know that's won it before they say, "You got to go, you got to go." And I said, "Oh, I'm going. I'm not going to miss that." But this year because of the COVID-19, they have postponed the awards weekend and they're going to do next year, 2019 and 2020 winners together on one weekend. So hopefully, I can make that June of 2021.

Derek Smith:

Well, all the more time to look forward to it. Hope it's even better then. Well, John, again, congratulations on the award and thanks so much for joining us here today on the program. I really enjoyed it.

John Morris:

Derek, thanks very much, I appreciate you and love your friendship, and it's great to visit with you in this format.

Derek Smith:

It is. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that and had a lot of fun. And hopefully it kind of, people hearing your voice, scratches the sports itch a little bit as we wait for it to come back, and hopefully soon. Well John Morris, the Voice of the Bears, appreciate your time for joining us today here on Baylor Connections. I'm Derek Smith, a reminder you can hear this and other programs online, baylor.edu/connections. Thanks for joining us here on Baylor Connections.