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BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Living Legend Speedy Morris Forever Etched in Hardwood at St. Joseph’s Prep

By JJ MICHALSKI, 01/30/20, 6:00PM EST

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Video: St. Joseph’s Prep honors the legacy of head basketball coach Speedy Morris with commemorative engraving on the court in the Kelly Fieldhouse. JJ Michalski had the opportunity to speak with Morris and talk with current and former players, including Roman Catholic head coach and former player for Morris, Matt Griffin and fellow Philadelphia Hall of Fame coach Fran Dunphy. 

PHILADELPHIA - 52 years, 11 hall-of-fame inductions and over 1,000 wins are just a few of the accolades that William “Speedy” Morris has worked hard to earn. The native of Manayunk, who was Philly born and raised, has an illustrious career but has decided that the time has come to retire from coaching Philadelphia basketball. 

The decision to leave the Prep comes after 18 years of hard work and dedication. However, his desire and passion for coaching has not diminished.

He retires as the winningest coach in program history at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, Roman Catholic High School, and La Salle University. Entering the 2019-2020 season, Morris’ win total was up to 1,024. 

St. Joe’s Prep honored Speedy in Sunday’s contest against Roman Catholic. The planned ceremonies included a post-game cocktail hour. Prior to the game, to Speedy’s surprise, the name “Speedy Morris” was unveiled at center court of the Kelly Fieldhouse. This is the second court in the city to honor Morris in this way. Roman Catholic was the first to do it, and it was only fitting that the Cahillites were on the other side to see this legend mark his name in eternity once again.

Matt Griffin, the head coach of Roman Catholic, was part of the ceremonies and presented Mimi Morris with flowers and helped Speedy to unveil his name. Griffin, who played under Morris and was an assistant to his staff before accepting the head position at Roman, was honored to face-off against Speedy one last time. 

St. Joes Prep plays their final home game on February 3, 2020 against Archbishop Wood. Speedy Morris will finish his coaching career on the road at La Salle College High School on February 9.