Morgan State Bears football
The Morgan State Bears football team competes in American football on behalf of Morgan State University. The Bears compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, currently as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).[2] The Bears play their home games at Hughes Stadium, a 10,000 seat facility in Baltimore, Maryland.
Morgan State Bears | |||
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First season | 1898 | ||
Head coach | Tyrone Wheatley 1st season, | ||
Stadium | Hughes Stadium (Capacity: 10,001) | ||
Field surface | Turf | ||
Location | Baltimore, Maryland | ||
Conference | MEAC | ||
All-time record | 412–385–38 (.516) | ||
Bowl record | 2–3 (.400) | ||
Conference titles | 21 | ||
Rivalries | Howard Bison Towson Tigers | ||
Colors | Blue and Orange[1] | ||
Mascot | Bears | ||
Website | morganstatebears.com |
Morgan State began playing football in 1898, 31 years after the school was founded. The team's all-time record is 405 wins, 379 losses and 38 ties.[3] 173 of those wins came between 1929 and 1959 when Edward P. Hurt was the head coach and the Bears won 14 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships. Earl Banks won four CIAA championships during the 1960s and an additional championship in 1971 after Morgan entered the MEAC. The Bears have won three MEAC Championships (1976, 1979 and 2014).[4]
History
Classifications
- 1950–1972: NCAA College Division
- 1955–1965: NAIA
- 1970–1984: NAIA Division I
- 1973–1985: NCAA Division II
- 1986–present: NCAA Division I–AA/FCS
Conference memberships
- 1899–1928: Independent
- 1929–1970: Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association
- 1971–1978: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
- 1979–1983: Division II Independent
- 1984–present: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Historic first
- 1976, Morgan State played Grambling State in the first American college football game in Asia. Morgan State lost 42–16 in Tokyo, Japan.[5]
Championships
Edward P. Hurt | |
CIAA | 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1956 |
Earl Banks | |
CIAA | 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 |
MEAC | 1971, 1976 (Co-Champs), 1979, 2014 (Co-Champs) |
Rivals
Morgan State and Howard participate in the Howard–Morgan State football rivalry.[6][7][8]
Towson University and Morgan State share a rivalry called The Battle for Greater Baltimore.[9][10]
Playoff appearances
Morgan State has made one appearance in the FCS playoffs.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | First Round | Richmond | L 24–46 | |
Playoff Record | 0–1 | |||
Coaches
Name | Years | Won | Lost | Tied | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dr. John Camper | 1920–1923 | 3 | 14 | 1 | |
Jim F. Law | 1924–1925 | 6 | 3 | 2 | |
Dr. Charles R. Drew | 1926–1927 | 8 | 2 | 2 | |
Bill Taylor | 1928 | 5 | 2 | 3 | |
Eddie Hurt | 1929–1959 | 173 | 54 | 18 | |
Earl Banks | 1960–1973 | 95 | 30 | 2 | |
Nat Taylor | 1974–1975 | 9 | 10 | 1 | |
Henry Lattimore | 1976–1977 | 10 | 10 | 1 | |
Clarence Thomas | 1978–1980 | 17 | 15 | 1 | |
Thomas Morris | 1981 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
Nat Taylor | 1982 | 4 | 7 | 0 | |
James Phillips | 1983–1984 | 2 | 18 | 0 | |
Jesse Thomas | 1985–1987 | 2 | 27 | 0 | |
Edmund Wyche | 1988–1990 | 6 | 26 | 1 | |
Ricky Diggs | 1991–1995 | 10 | 45 | 0 | |
Stump Mitchell | 1996–1998 | 8 | 24 | 1 | |
Stanley Mitchell | 1999–2001 | 5 | 27 | 0 | |
Donald Hill-Eley | 2002–2013 | 59 | 76 | 0 | |
Lee Hull | 2014–2016 | 11 | 12 | 0 | |
Fred Farrier | 2016–2017 | 4 | 18 | 0 | |
Ernest T. Jones | 2018 | 4 | 7 | 0 | |
Tyrone Wheatley | 2019 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Eddie Hurt era
Coach Eddie P. Hurt took over the Morgan Bears football team in 1929, the next year his teams won the first of the 14 CIAA championships they would win with him at the helm. More importantly, Hurt, and his assistant coach Talmadge L. Hill, built a program that allowed black athletes to show case their talents where such a venue had been non-existent before.[11] From 1931 to 1938, Hurt coached the Bears to a 54-game win streak without a single loss.[12] During his tenure, Morgan's football teams completed 11 seasons undefeated and, in the 1943 season, opponents failed to score a single point against the Bears.[13] Hurt is a member of the HBCU coaches Hall of Fame [14] and in 1952 Morgan named its new $1 million gymnasium facility after him.[12]
Earl "Papa Bear" Banks era
Earl Banks succeeded Hurt and took Morgan football to the next level. Banks was the Head coach from 1960 to 1973. He coached the Bears to a 31-game winning streak, three unbeaten regular seasons, four CIAA titles, a MEAC championship, and four bowl games. Twice during his tenure, Morgan led the nation in total defense.[15] 35 of Bank's players went on to play in the NFL, including Pro Football Hall of Famers Leroy Kelly and Willie Lanier; two more players played professional ball in the CFL.[4][16] Banks was inducted into five sports Halls of Fame[15] including the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.[17]
Modern era
Two Coaches have had winning records at Morgan since the departure of Banks at the end of the 1973 season. The Bears had suffered 23 straight seasons with a losing record until the arrival of former Coach Donald Hill-Eley whose first team had a 7–5 record in the 2002 season. Lee Hull was named head coach on January 8, 2014 and his first team went 7–5 and won a share of the MEAC championship and also played in the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
Notable alumni
Fifty three former Morgan players have gone on to play professional football. Thirty nine players went to the NFL, eight to the CFL, three to the WFL and one each to the AAFC, the Arena Football League and the AIFA. At least one player has gone to the NFL every decade since 1950 from Morgan State.[18]
Former Morgan Bears Len Ford, Leroy Kelly, Willie Lanier and Rosey Brown are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Legend |
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† Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
References
- "MSU Branding Toolkit: Colors". Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- "Morgan State Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
- "Morgan State University Directory". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- Leonard L. Haynes IV, ed. (2007). Morgan State University Football Media Guide. Baltimore, Maryland: Morgan State University. Archived from the original on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- Huggins, Gerald J. (September 23, 2016). "Back in the day: 40 years ago, Morgan State and Grambling played in Tokyo". theundeafeated.com. The Undefeated. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
- Wilbon, Michael (November 21, 1980). "Howard-Morgan State: The Game". The Washington Post. Washington. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- Freeman, Rasheim (October 2, 2005). "Rivalry And Revelry". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- "Howard & Morgan Take Rivalry North to a Big Stage in the Big Apple". The Afro (Baltimore). September 25, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/football/bs-sp-towson-morgan-state-football-series-0719-story.html
- https://towsontigers.com/news/2017/7/18/football-towson-morgan-state-hold-battle-for-greater-baltimore-press-conference.aspx
- Wade, Herman L. (2004-06-01). Run From There. United States: Word Association. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-932205-78-7.
The arrival of the black athlete on the national sports scene in the 1940s and 50s goes directly back to Edward P. Hurt. There is not a single black sports figure in the world today who is not in some small way in the debt of Coach Hurt.
- "The Edward P. Hurt Gymnasium Continues a Tradition" (PDF). Morgan Magazine. Spring 2004. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- Jennifer, Jacob (2002-03-22). "Morgan Legend: Eddie P. Hurt". The Spokesman (University's newspaper). Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "Hall Of Fame Induction List". The Onnidan Group. Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "Earl C. Banks". Morgan State University Sports Information. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- Rhoden, William C. (1992-12-05). "Sports of The Times; Weaving Threads Of History". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "Earl Banks". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- Leonard L. Haynes IV (ed.). "Morgan State University Football Media Guide" (PDF). Morgan State University. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
- "Elmore Harris". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "All-Time players: Charlie Robinson". NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "Rosey Brown". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "All-Time Players: Ollie Dobbins". NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "Leroy Kelly enshrined in Black College Football Hall of Fame". morganstatebears.com. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- "Famous Alumni". Morgan State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- "Tom Carr". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "Carlton Dabney". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "Daryl Johnson". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "Alvin Mitchell". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
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- "Clarence Scott". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "Bob Wade". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
- "All-Time Players: George Nock". NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "All-Time Players: John Fuqua". NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "Ed Hayes". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- "All-Time Players: Mark Washington". NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "All-Time Players: Willie Germany". NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- "All-Time Players: Ara Person". NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
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- "Maurice Tyler". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
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- "All-Time Players: Tim Baylor". NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
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- "Cornell Gowdy". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
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- "Team Roster: Chad Simpson". 2009 NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- "Team Roster: Joshua Miles". 2019 NFL Enterprises. Retrieved 2020-06-18.