Jim Morris

Born in Garnett in 1924, Jim Morris joined the Navy as an 18 year old and served overseas in Guadalcanal, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guam.  While in Guam, he pitched for a Marine baseball team coached by Pee Wee Reese, who recommended him to professional scouts.

Upon leaving the service, Morris was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals and assigned to the Topeka Owls of the KOM League.  He played several seasons in the KOM League and in the Western League before moving to Wichita in 1949 to work for Boeing and, a year later, playing for the Boeing Bombers.  

Morris helped the Bombers win consecutive National Baseball Congress World Series titles in 1954 and 1955. He was named to the all-tournament team in 1955. Morris appeared in 10 NBC national tournaments before retiring from baseball in 1961.

He retired from Boeing in 1979 and died in 2000 at the age of 76.  His family scattered his ashes on the pitcher’s mound of Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita.