Allie Morrison

Alvin Roy "Allie" Morrison (June 29, 1904 – April 18, 1966) was an American wrestler who won the freestyle featherweight competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.[1] Morrison was the only American wrestler to capture a gold medal at those Games. Such a feat also made him a world champion, as the Olympic wrestling champion is the official World champion for Olympic competition years (1924-present).

Allie Morrison
Allie Morrison at the 1928 Olympics
Personal information
Birth nameAlvin Roy Morrison
BornJune 29, 1904
Marshalltown, Iowa, United States
DiedApril 18, 1966 (aged 61)
Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Sport
SportFreestyle wrestling
ClubIllinois Fighting Illini
Medal record
Men's wrestling
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
1928 Amsterdam Featherweight

Morrison also won three successive United States AAU, National Wrestling Championships, and had an almost perfect career record with merely one contest loss. He was forced to retire in 1929 due to broken vertebra and later coached wrestling and football.

Biography

Morrison was born to Ethan Allen Morrison, a railroad worker, and Sarah Jean Morrison. At 5 feet 5 inches he was shorter than his father. In 1927 Morrison married Ora Bass, a woman from his hometown, they had one daughter, Bessie Jane Morrison Svehla, born in Pennsylvania in 1931. Bass died in 1960.[2]

On March 2, 1929, Morrison broke some of the vertebrae in his neck during a wrestling match. Fearing paralysis, doctors forced him to retire from wrestling. Next year Morrison graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in English and physical education and began coaching wrestling and football. This career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the US Navy as a petty officer. He retired after 1952 and later ran a tavern.[2]

References
  1. Allie Morrison. sports-reference.com
  2. Mark Palmer (April 17, 2012) Allie Morrison: Golden boy of 1928 Olympics. intermatwrestle.com


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