“TORONTO GOAL SCORED BY NUMBER 27, DARRYL SITTLER…TIME, FIVE-O-FOUR. UNASSISTED… TOMORROW AFTERNOON THE MARLIES PLAY HOST TO THE PETERBOROUGH PETES…”
Paul Morris’s straight forward goal announcing still rings in my ears to this day even though he ceased to be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ public address announcer at the end of the last century. He began his duties in 1961 and while fulfilling his other duties as a sound engineer voiced over 1500 consecutive Leafs games until 1999.
There is way more to his story — including how he helped bring a defunct cinema’s organ up into the rafters of the Gardens. Then there was the time he helped to build that giant, square-cornered “DOMINION” scoreboard/clock hanging way up high over centre ice. Lance Hornby of The Toronto Sun has all the details in a worthy tribute piece here.
Morris, who passed away last week at 86, had a voice that resonates to me to this day even though, like most Leafs fans, I never met him. Every Saturday night, we would hear him on Hockey Night in Canada. He was part of the soundtrack, like the Hockey Night in Canada theme (which TSN owns the right to today) or the play-by-play calls of men such as Foster and Bill Hewitt and Bob “Oh, baby!” Cole.
It wasn’t that Morris’ delivery was so outrageous or theatrical; quite the opposite. He would always eliminate any trace of “homer,” booming the calls for goals or penalties the same for either side. Never edgy or braggy, Morris rather was legendarily monotonous.
When I think of Paul Morris I think of Pat Bullock, who used to immitate him so well. As Bullock & Brioux, we performed at comedy clubs in the early ’80s such as Tickles in Barrie or Yuk Yuks and Alastairs in Toronto. Our act was not very original, but we got off with applause because Pat’s imitation of Morris’ was a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
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I heard it so often I could do a pretty good immitation of Pat’s immitation. Once, at Dodger Stadium at Chavez ravine in Los Angeles, to the bewilderment I’m sure of most other TV beat reporters, fellow Canadian scribe Eric Kohanik goaded me into doing my Morris bit over the ball park’s public address system. It made the seven Canadians there that night laugh.
Morris’ passing is another sign of a by-gone era for many boomers. As he himself said on so many nights, “LAST MINUTE OF PLAY IN THIS PERIOD.”
