FOXBORO, Mass. — Former Patriots center Jon Morris thought his chance had passed him by.
He was nominated multiple times as a finalist for the Patriots Hall of Fame, but he couldn't get past the final fan vote. The newly-formed senior committee pushed him through this year, and Morris is ecstatic for Saturday's enshrinement.
"I'm tremendously overwhelmed because I was nominated several times and didn't win through the fans' vote, and really never thought that there was much chance that I would win through the fans' vote because most of the fans who were voting weren't even born when I played," said Morris, who played for the Patriots from 1964-74. "So I didn't think there was ever going to be a chance for that. When this senior committee came along, it just caught me completely by surprise. I wasn't aware of it. I had given up hope. I really had. I was very, very disappointed that I was never going to make it.
"But all of a sudden I get this phone call, and it's actually Robert Kraft that calls to tell you that you're in. He makes the call himself. He had a nice way of putting it. He said, 'I hope you would do us the honor of accepting my invitation to join the Hall of Fame.' I said, 'Well, OK, I think I will.' And that's how I found out. So it's just a thrill. It's a huge thrill for me, especially when it came as such a surprise."
