Arthur Morton (American football)

Arthur Wilson "Slick" Morton Jr. (June 12, 1914 – April 19, 1999) was an American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Southeastern Louisiana University (1942), the Virginia Military Institute (1947–1948), and Mississippi State University (1949–1951), compiling a career college football record of 22–31–2.

Arthur Morton

Morton pictured in Reveille 1950, Mississippi State yearbook
Biographical details
Born	(1914-06-12)June 12, 1914 Gilliam, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	April 19, 1999(1999-04-19) (aged 84) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Playing career
1935–1937	LSU
Position(s)	Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1938	Saint Stanislaus (MS)
1939–1941	Bogalusa HS (LA)
1942	Southeastern Louisiana
1943–1946	LSU (backfield/ends)
1947–1948	VMI
1949–1951	Mississippi State
Head coaching record
Overall	22–31–2 (college)

Playing career

Morton led Tallulah High School to back-to-back Louisiana state football championships in 1932 and 1933. Morton was personally recruited by Huey Long to attend Louisiana State University (LSU), where he lettered for the LSU Tigers football team from 1935 through 1937 and was captain of the 1937 squad.

Coaching career

High school

Morton began his coaching career in 1938 at Saint Stanislaus College, a Catholic prep school in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. There he mentored Doc Blanchard, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1945 playing for Army. In 1939, Morton move to Bogalusa High School in Bogalusa, Louisiana, where he served as head football coach for three seasons.^[1]

Southeastern Louisiana

Morton's first head coaching position was the fifth head coach at Southeastern Louisiana University and he held that position for the 1942 season. His coaching record at Southeastern Louisiana was 5–5 .^[2]

VMI

Morton was named the 19th head coach for the Keydets and he held that position for two seasons, from 1947 until 1948. His career coaching record at VMI was 9–8–1.^[3]

Later life

After his coaching days, Morton moved to Greenwood, Mississippi, entering business as a general contractor.

Head coaching record

College

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Southeastern Louisiana Lions (Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference) (1942)
1942	Southeastern Louisiana	5–5	0–3	4th
Southeastern Louisiana:		5–5	0–3
VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1947–1948)
1947	VMI	3–5–1	2–3–1	11th
1948	VMI	6–3	5–1	3rd
VMI:		9–8–1	7–4–1
Mississippi State Maroons (Southeastern Conference) (1949–1951)
1949	Mississippi State	0–8–1	0–6	12th
1950	Mississippi State	4–5	3–4	7th
1951	Mississippi State	4–5	2–5	11th
Mississippi State:		8–18–1	5–15
Total:		22–31–2

References

1. "Slick Morton of L.S.U. Named VMI Coach". The News Leader. Staunton, Virginia. January 29, 1947. p. 6. Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
2. Southeastern Louisiana University Lions football coaching records Archived February 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
3. Virginia Military Institute Coaching Records Archived December 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Arthur Morton at Find a Grave