Butch Morris
The cerebral coach who led the New York Giants to three championship games and later became a pioneering television analyst.
1947–2013 (age 66)·American cornetist, composer and conductor·Birthday: February 10·Baby Boomers
Biography
In the gritty world of 1960s NFL football, Allie Sherman was an anomaly—a playbook intellectual in a leather-helmet culture. The Brooklyn-born quarterback turned coach was a strategist obsessed with the forward pass when many still glorified the run. Taking the reins of the New York Giants in 1961, he engineered a dramatic offensive overhaul, guiding them to three consecutive NFL Championship games behind star quarterback Y.A. Tittle. While those teams fell short of the ultimate prize, Sherman's innovative 'shotgun' formation and complex passing schemes left a permanent mark. After his coaching tenure, he helped demystify the game for millions as a network television analyst, breaking down film with a teacher's clarity. His legacy is that of a bridge figure, translating football's complexities into both wins and widespread understanding.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Butch was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Butch Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Butch's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2013Died at 66
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Named NFL Coach of the Year in 1961 and 1962.
- Led the New York Giants to three straight NFL Championship games (1961-1963).
- Served as head coach for the Giants for eight seasons, compiling a 57-51-4 record.
- Pioneered the use of the 'shotgun' formation in the NFL.
- Had a long career as a football analyst for CBS Television.
Did You Know?
He played college football at Brooklyn College.
Sherman was a professional player for the Philadelphia Eagles and later the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL.
He was traded from the Eagles to the Rams for a future Hall of Fame coach, Buck Shaw.
Sherman authored a popular instructional book, 'The ABC's of Football'.
He was fluent in Yiddish.
“Conduction is about shaping sound in real time, composing the present moment.”
