Morris was born in Brooklyn in 1862. The 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) left-handed pitcher started his professional baseball career in 1879. From 1879 to 1883, Morris played in the Pacific League, New California League, California League, League Alliance, and Interstate Association. In 1883, with the Interstate Association's Reading Actives, he had 199.2 innings pitched and went 16–6 with a 1.80 earned run average (ERA), and 140 strikeouts; he also played as an outfielder and had a .300 batting average.[1]
Major league career
In 1884, Morris made his major league debut with the Columbus Buckeyes of the American Association (AA). That season, he had 429.2 innings pitched and went 34–13 with a 2.18 ERA and 302 strikeouts. He ranked third in the AA in ERA.[2] On May 29, he pitched a no-hitter in a 5–0 win over the Pittsburgh Alleghenys.
The Alleghenys purchased Morris in October 1884. In 1885, Morris had 581 innings pitched and went 39–24 with a 2.35 ERA and 298 strikeouts. He led the league in games pitched (63), games started (63), complete games (63), innings pitched, strikeouts, and shutouts (7). He also ranked second in wins and third in ERA.[2]
In 1886, Morris had 555.1 innings pitched and went 41–20 with a 2.45 ERA and 326 strikeouts. He led the AA in wins and shutouts (12). He also ranked third in innings pitched and strikeouts.[2]
The Alleghenys moved to the National League (NL) in 1887. That season, Morris had 317.2 innings pitched and went 14–22 with a 4.31 ERA and 91 strikeouts.[2]
In 1888, Morris had 480 innings pitched and went 29–23 with a 2.31 ERA and 135 strikeouts. He led the NL in games pitched (55), games started (55), and complete games (54). He also ranked second in innings pitched.[2]
In 1889, Morris had 170 innings pitched and went 6–13 with a 4.13 ERA and 40 strikeouts.[2]
In 1890, Morris played for the Pittsburgh Burgers of the Players' League. He had 144.1 innings pitched and went 8–7 with a 4.86 ERA and 25 strikeouts. That was his last season in professional baseball.[1]
During his major league career, Morris had 2,678 innings pitched and went 171–122 with a 2.82 ERA and 1,217 strikeouts. He also had a .161 batting average.[2] Writer David Nemec described Morris as "the first truly outstanding southpaw pitcher in major league history."[3]
