Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1985
- Class:
- 1939
A great all-around athlete, Jack Morlock became captain and an all-conference performer for the football and basketball teams at Marshall. Recruited by Cam Henderson out of McKeesport, Pa., where he had been captain of the baseball, basketball and football teams, Morlock made a similar impact on the collegiate level. On the gridiron, Morlock helped the 1937 squad to a Buckeye Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship with a 9-0-1 record, and then received All-Buckeye honors as an end in 1938 and 1939, when he served as a captain and received honorable mention on the Associated Press Little All-America Team. In his final football game for Marshall, Morlock set a school record with a 97-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Andy D’Antoni in a 27-0 win at Morris Harvey.
As a basketball player, the 5-foot-10 forward helped Marshall to a 75-13 mark over three seasons from 1937-40, winning Buckeye Conference titles in his sophomore and junior seasons and garnering All-Buckeye Conference honors as a junior in the league’s final year of existence. Morlock was a co-captain of the team during his senior season, and scored an amazing 36 points in a 60-26 win over perennial power City College of New York.
After graduation, Morlock was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 14th round of the 1940 NFL Draft. He played in four games that season, then became a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy on a PT Boat during World War II. Morlock was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985.
