Gerald Morrison

Larry Gerald Morrison was born on January 27, 1956, to Erskine and Clara Thompson Morrison in Grant, Alabama. He has seven brothers and sisters: James, Tony, Renae, Randy, Debra, Donald, Anita, and a deceased brother Lannie. Gerald's family was very supportive of their children and his mother never missed a game in which he played. Gerald did not start playing organized basketball until he was in the 8th grade at Claysville Jr. High School under Coach Harry Douglas. He wanted to play so badly that he hitchhiked home to Merrill Mountain after practice every day. In his first game he scored 30 points, 28 for Claysville and 2 for Grassy! His hard-playing style earned him the nickname "Cowboy" Morrison. As a 9th grader in 1971, Gerald was selected to the Eastern Eighth District All-Tournament Jr. High Team after scoring a total of 71 points in the tournament. In the 10th Grade, Gerald transferred to Kate Duncan Smith DAR High School to continue his basketball career under Hall of Fame nominee Head Coach Joe Teal. As a Junior in 1973 at KDS, Gerald, now 6-3, was a major player on the Patriot's 23-7 team which were Runner-up to Guntersville in the Marshall County Tournament. Gerald averaged 18 points and 16 rebounds per game thay year and was selected All-County, County Tournament MVP, and First-Team Birmingham Post-Herald AA All-State. The team that year also included Hall of Fame member Terry Fuell who joined Morrison on the All-County and All-State teams. As a senior in 1974, Gerald again led the team with 22 points and 14 rebounds per game, was selected to the All-County Team for the third time, and was selected for the Prep All-American Basketball Yearbook. Gerald was also an outstanding baseball player for the patriots, playing pitcher and centerfield for Coaches Joe Teal and John Boyd. His junior year, the baseball team was the Runner-up to Flomaton for the State Baseball Championship. Following graduation, Gerald played independent basketball and baseball while working for Wayne Farms. He also passed along his basketball skills by coaching youth teams in Grant. He retired from Wayne after 26 years and then worked for Redstone Arsenal for another 10 years before finally retiring. In 1974, Gerald married Greta Hobbs. Gerald and Greta have been married for 39 years and have two children, Jason (Kandi) Morrison and Valerie (Eric) Largen and four grandchildren: Brady Largen and Ella, Rowyn and Edyn Morrison.