Career
Morrison was the only American wrestler to capture a gold medal at those Games. He was forced to retire in 1929 due to broken vertebra and later coached wrestling and football. Morrison was born to Ethan Allen Morrison, a railroad worker, and Sarah Jean Morrison.
At 5 feet 5 inches he was shorter than his father.
In 1927 Morrison married Ora Bass, a woman from his hometown, they had one daughter, Bessie Jane Morrison Svehla, born in Pennsylvania in 1931. Bass died in 1960. On March 2, 1929, Morrison broke some of the vertebrae in his neck during a wrestling match.
Fearing paralysis, doctors forced him to retire from wrestling. Next year Morrison graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in English and physical education and began coaching wrestling and football.
This career was interrupted by World World War II, during which he served in the United States Navy as a petty officer
He retired after 1952 and later ran a tavern.