Johnnie Morton
{{Short description|American football player (born 1971)}}
{{similar names|John Morton (disambiguation){{!}}John Morton}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Johnnie Morton
| number = 87, 80, 84
| position = Wide receiver
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|10|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Torrance, California, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 193
| high_school = South (Torrance)
| college = USC
| draftyear = 1994
| draftround = 1
| draftpick = 21
| pastteams =
- Detroit Lions ({{NFL Year|1994|2001}})
- Kansas City Chiefs ({{NFL Year|2002|2004}})
- San Francisco 49ers ({{NFL Year|2005}})
| highlights =
- Consensus All-American (1993)
- Pop Warner Trophy (1993)
- First-team All-Pac-10 (1993)
- Second-team All-Pac-10 (1992)
| statlabel1 = Receptions
| statvalue1 = 624
| statlabel2 = Receiving yards
| statvalue2 = 8,719
| statlabel3 = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 43
| pfr = MortJo00
}}
Johnnie James Morton Jr. (born October 7, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning recognition as an All-American in 1993. Selected by the Detroit Lions in the first round in the 1994 NFL draft, he also played professionally for the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. Morton also had a brief career in mixed martial arts fighting in 2007.
Early life
Morton was born in Torrance, California. He attended South High School in Torrance, California and played for the South High Spartans high school football team.
College career
While attending the University of Southern California, Morton played for the USC Trojans football team from 1990 to 1993. He broke twelve USC team and Pacific-10 Conference records for receptions and receiving yards. Morton was nicknamed "Big Play Morton" by Tom Kelly, and "Johnnie Hero" by USC broadcaster Pete Arbogast, thanks to a game-winning touchdown pass Morton caught in the 1990 USC-UCLA rivalry game—a 23-yard strike from Trojans quarterback Todd Marinovich with 16 seconds left that gave the Trojans a 45-42 come-from-behind victory.
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 11 7/8
| weight = 189
| arm span = 32
| hand span = 10
}}
Detroit selected Morton in the first round (21st overall pick) of the 1994 NFL Draft, and he played for the Lions from {{NFL Year|1994}} to {{NFL Year|2001}}.{{Cite web |title=1994 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1994/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He would go on to achieve an important secondary role on a deep Lions' receiving corps that also featured Pro Bowl flanker Herman Moore and veteran Brett Perriman. After learning the ropes as a rookie in 1994, Morton became Detroit's featured slot receiver in 1995 and a key contributor on special teams as a kickoff/punt returner. Morton was part of one of the most prolific offenses in Detroit history that year, as the Lions would rack up 436 total points (second highest in the NFL) and end up with ten victories - appearing in the playoffs for the third straight season. He contributed 44 receptions on that team for 590 yards and 8 touchdowns. Perhaps his most memorable game occurred that same season during a classic Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit against the Minnesota Vikings. Moore (127 yards), Perriman (153), and Johnnie Morton (102) all eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark, and Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders rushed for 138 yards, and quarterback Scott Mitchell passed for 410 yards in a 44-38 Lions' shootout victory.
After the departure of Perriman, Morton became more of a featured receiver in Detroit's offense in the ensuing years. His best season statistically was during the 1999 season when he had 80 receptions for 1129 yards on a surprising Lions team that made the playoffs that year, despite the unexpected retirement of Barry Sanders. All told, Morton finished his pro career with 624 receptions for 8719 yards and 43 touchdowns. He currently ranks third on Detroit's all-time list in both receptions and yards-receiving, with 469 and 6,499, respectively.
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | ||||||||||
| Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 || DET
| 14 || 3 || 39 || 13.0 || 18 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||
| 1995 || DET
| 16 || 44 || 590 || 13.4 || 32 || 8 || 29 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||
| 1996 || DET
| 16 || 55 || 714 || 13.0 || 62 || 6 || 31 || 1 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 1997 || DET
| 16 || 80 || 1,057 || 13.2 || 73 || 6 || 51 || 2 || 0 | ||||||||||
| 1998 || DET
| 16 || 69 || 1,028 || 14.9 || 98 || 2 || 48 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||
| 1999 || DET
| 16 || 80 || 1,129 || 14.1 || 48 || 5 || 52 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||
| 2000 || DET
| 16 || 61 || 788 || 12.9 || 42 || 3 || 40 || 1 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 2001 || DET
| 16 || 77 || 1,154 || 15.0 || 76 || 4 || 58 || 1 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 2002 || KC
| 14 || 29 || 397 || 13.7 || 30 || 1 || 25 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||
| 2003 || KC
| 16 || 50 || 740 || 14.8 || 50 || 4 || 36 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||
| 2004 || KC
| 13 || 55 || 795 || 14.5 || 52 || 3 || 38 || 1 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 2005 || SF
| 13 || 21 || 288 || 13.7 || 30 || 0 || 14 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||
| colspan="2"| Career || 182 || 624 || 8,719 || 14.0 || 98 || 43 || 424 || 6 || 4 |
Personal life
Morton's older half-brother, Michael Morton, played at UNLV and younger brother, Chad Morton played at USC.{{cite news |last=Norwood |first=Robyn |date=November 16, 1999 |title=The Morton Chronicles |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-16-sp-34200-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=December 1, 2023}} The Morton family is of African American and Japanese ethnicity.{{cite news |last=Gustkey |first=Earl |date=December 1, 2023 |title=They Get Great Reception |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-19-sp-58605-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=December 1, 2023}}
Morton had a brief cameo appearance in the movie Jerry Maguire{{cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Lee |date=May 22, 2007 |title=No Helmet, No Pads, No Escape |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/sports/othersports/22morton.html |work=New York Times |access-date=December 1, 2023}} and the television series Moesha.{{cite news |last=Payton |first=Mike |date=April 11, 2017 |title=The Roaring 20s: A look back at every draft pick the Lions have made from 20 to 29 |url=https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2017/4/11/15251674/detroit-lions-draft-history-20th-overall-to-29th-overall |work=SB Nation |access-date=December 1, 2023}}
During the 2001 season, comedian Jay Leno had been poking fun at the Lions' 0–12 record.{{cite news |last=Lage |first=Larry |date=November 19, 2008 |title=Lions have shot to make dubious history at 0-16 |url=https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/sports/2008/11/20/lions-have-shot-to-make/45235163007/ |work=Holland Sentinel |access-date=December 1, 2023}} After the Lions won their first game of the season 27–24 over the Minnesota Vikings, Morton announced that he wanted Leno to "kiss my ass." The following week, Morton appeared as a guest on Leno's Tonight Show.{{cite news |author= |date=December 17, 2001 |title=Leno turns other cheek to Lions|url=https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/leno-turns-other-cheek-to-lions-1074850.php |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |access-date=December 1, 2023}}
Mixed martial arts record
{{MMArecordbox
| draws=
| nc=
| ko-wins=
| ko-losses= 1
| sub-wins=
| sub-losses=
| dec-wins=
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| dq-wins=
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}}
{{MMA record start}}
|-
| {{no2}}Loss
| align=center| 0–1
| KO (punch)
| {{dts|2007|June|02|format=mdy}}
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 0:38
| Los Angeles, California, United States
| {{small|Catchweight (213 lbs) bout. Morton tested positive for elevated testosterone levels.}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Morton-Tests-Positive-for-Steroids-7893|title=Morton Tests Positive for Steroids}}
{{end}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?FighterID=21783 Professional MMA record.]
{{Pop Warner Trophy}}
{{1993 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1994 NFL Draft}}
{{LionsFirstPick}}
{{Lions1994DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Johnnie}}
Category:All-American college football players
Category:American football wide receivers
Category:Players of American football from Torrance, California
Category:American male mixed martial artists
Category:American sportspeople in doping cases
Category:Detroit Lions players
Category:Doping cases in mixed martial arts
Category:Glenville State Pioneers football coaches
Category:Kansas City Chiefs players
Category:Light heavyweight mixed martial artists
Category:Mixed martial artists from California
Category:San Francisco 49ers players
Category:USC Trojans football players
Category:American sportspeople of Japanese descent
Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen
Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen