Football star Mercury Morris dies

Eugene Edward “Mercury” Morris, whose gridiron heroics were overshadowed by his drug addiction and prison conviction, has died at the age of 77.
No cause of death was revealed.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., Morris finished second to USC’s O.J. Simpson in rushing nationally circa 1967 at West Texas State University, the following year, he set a single season rushing record with 1,571 yards. A week later, Simpson eclipsed it with 1,880 yards.
Drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1969, he joined a lackluster team whose fortunes were reversed with the arrival of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Sula in 1970. Initially a kick returner and reserve halfback, he came into his own by 1972, and earned back-to-back championship rings in Super Bowl VII and VIII, with backfield mates Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick.
The Dolphins utilized an unusual three-man rushing rotation that incorporated fullback Csonka and running backs Kiick and Morris. While not as heralded as Csonka and Kiick who were dubbed by the media as “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (a reference to a popular movie of the day), Morris’ evasive speed was the perfect counterpoint to the bruising, inside power style of his teammates, making for a “three-headed monster” that haunted opposing defenses. Their 1972 championship team remains the only unbeaten team in NFL history.
Injuries and age caught up with the legendary running back who ended his career with the San Diego Changers in 1976. During his athletic glory years Miami became the epicenter of a cocaine boom blanketing the United States due to its geographic proximity to the Caribbean and South America, becoming known as the “Drug Capital of the World.” The high profile of the Dolphin’s success made its players susceptible to this vice, and Morris, an acknowledged practitioner, became embroiled in a 1982 arrest for possession and conspiracy to sell two pounds of cocaine to undercover police.
Sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, his conviction was overturned in1986 via a plea bargain after serving three years. Maintaining his innocence to trafficking charges but accountable to his existence as an addict, Mercury Morris became a motivational speaker on the evils of narcotics abuse in his later years.