Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? serving as the ABC radio voice of Notre Dame football from 1964-67. Once he branched out on his own in business, Morse purchased the first of many Holiday Inns not far from his home. "That taught me to run that business pretty quickly," Morse said, "although I had a general manager that knew more about it, so I let her run it and teach me." He would later purchase radio sta- tions, mobile home parks, factory outlet malls, among other businesses. It was not about how much he knew about each industry, but finding the right people who did. "You have to hire the right people and let them do their job," said Morse, who also owns a home in Aspen, Colo., for skiing season. "As long as they do it right, you've got a job for life with me." A LEADER THROUGH LIFE Recruited and signed by head coach Frank Leahy in the 1953 class, Morse saw the Fighting Irish finish 26-3-1 his first three seasons before getting se- lected the team captain in 1956. Heisman winner Hornung and Morse were hardly enough to avoid a 2-8 season in which the Irish lost to six teams that finished in the top 18 of the Associated Press poll, including No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Iowa. The scholarship numbers were egregiously low for Notre Dame during what was known or perceived as a period of de- emphasis in football. "We were really disappointed but there wasn't a whole lot we could do about it," Morse said. "We were play- ing as hard as we could and up to our ability. It was simply the other teams we were playing had a lot more talent because they were taking a lot more kids on scholarship. It was a whole dif- ferent ball game back then." Morse was married to the former Leah Rae Seymour on July 31, 1954, just before his sophomore year, and the couple, who have been blessed with seven children, 24 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this summer. The high school sweethearts started dating when they were 15. By the time Morse graduated in 1957, he was the father of three children, born consecutively in 1955, 1956 and 1957, including his late son Jim Jr., a reserve defensive back for the 1977 national champs. "That's one of the few Notre Dame records I still hold — I already had three kids when I graduated," Morse noted with a laugh. "I tell people it re- ally worked out well for me, but I don't recommend it for everyone." He didn't find being a husband, fa- ther, football star and college student too overwhelming, but admits some sacrifices had to be made. "Perhaps one of the roles had to suf- fer a bit," Morse said. "In my case, I think husband and father came along all right, and I think football came out all right. If anything suffered, perhaps it was my studies. "I've often thought it would be fun to go back to Notre Dame now and get an education this time." No need. It's evident he's learned how to thrive well in this changing world. ✦