Arthur Wilson "Slick" Morton Jr. (June 12, 1914 – April 19, 1999) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He was the head football coach at

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it becam ...

(1942), the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

(1947–1948), and

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

(1949–1951), compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 22–31–2.

Playing career

Morton led Tallulah High School to back-to-back Louisiana state football championships in 1932 and 1933. Morton was personally recruited by

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...

to attend

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

(LSU), where he lettered for the

LSU Tigers football The LSU Tigers football program, also known as the Fighting Tigers, represents Louisiana State University in college football. The Tigers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) an ...

team from 1935 through 1937 and was captain of the 1937 squad.

Coaching career

High school

Morton began his coaching career in 1938 at

Saint Stanislaus College St. Stanislaus College (SSC) is a Catholic day and boarding school for boys in grades 7–12. It has been owned and operated by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart order since 1854. It is located about an hour's drive outside New Orleans in Bay Sain ...

, a Catholic prep school in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. There he mentored

Doc Blanchard Felix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard (December 11, 1924 – April 19, 2009) was an American football player and serviceman who became the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award, and was the first football player to win the James E. Su ...

, who went on to win the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

in 1945 playing for

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. In 1939, Morton move to Bogalusa High School in

Bogalusa, Louisiana Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,232 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. In th2020 censusthe city, town, place equivalent reported a population of 10,659. It is the principal city ...

, where he served as head football coach for three seasons.

Southeastern Louisiana

Morton's first head coaching position was the fifth head coach at

and he held that position for the 1942 season. His coaching record at Southeastern Louisiana was 5–5 .

VMI

Morton was named the 19th head coach for the Keydets and he held that position for two seasons, from 1947 until 1948. His career coaching record at VMI was 9–8–1.Virginia Military Institute Coaching Records

Later life

After his coaching days, Morton moved to

Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...

, entering business as a general contractor.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* 1914 births 1999 deaths American football halfbacks LSU Tigers football coaches LSU Tigers football players Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Southeastern Louisiana Lions football coaches VMI Keydets football coaches High school football coaches in Louisiana High school football coaches in Mississippi People from Caddo Parish, Louisiana People from Greenwood, Mississippi People from Tallulah, Louisiana Coaches of American football from Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana {{1940s-collegefootball-coach-stub