Former Notre Dame football captain, benefactor Jim Morse dies at 87
SOUTH BEND – Jim Morse, a 1956 Notre Dame football captain and lifelong university benefactor, died last week at age 87 after reconnecting with his grandson this year.
Former NFL and Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough, hired in February as a graduate assistant for Notre Dame, smiled at the start of fall training camp when telling the story.
“My grandpa is ecstatic,” Bullough said of Morse, who died Sept. 28. “We’ve talked more since I got this job than we have the last five years. He calls me, and it’s all kind of stuff.”
Bullough, who coached with a heavy heart in Saturday night’s 21-14 win over Duke, also had a late uncle, Jim Morse Jr., who played defensive back for Notre Dame in 1976-77.
The elder Morse, a native of Muskegon, Mich., was a three-year starter at halfback for coach Terry Brennan from 1954-56. One of only two Irish running backs with more than 1,000 career receiving yards, Morse’s versatility helped quarterback Paul Hornung win the Heisman Trophy despite a 2-8 record their senior year.
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After being drafted by the Green Bay Packers and playing two seasons in the Canadian Football League, Morse was the Notre Dame radio analyst from 1964-67.
Honored in 2004 with the “Moose” Krause Distinguished Service Award, Morse was a private investor in hotels, radio stations, aircraft and outlet malls who served on the advisory council for Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters and on the Athletic Alumni Development Committee.
Morse and his surviving wife, Leah Rae, helped fund the Coleman-Morse Center, which opened in 2001 and is home to academic services for student-athletes and the Office of Campus Ministry. Their legacy also includes the Morse Family Scholarship Fund, which supports about a dozen students annually; an endowed fellowship for MBA students; and the Morse Recruiting Lounge in the Guglielmino Athletics Complex.
"There was no goal too big, no mountain too tall for my Grandpa Morse," Max Bullough posted on his Instagram account. "When he made up his mind, he made up his mind and throughout his life consistently capitalized on what many others couldn’t even see let alone do.
"With a calm, cool and collected demeanor and a bigger than life reputation you’d be hard pressed to find anybody that met him say a single bad thing about him. More importantly, he was unwavering in his values of grit, hard work, family and giving back to the places and people that helped shape him into what he is remembered for today."
After previous coaching stints at Cincinnati and Alabama, Bullough, 31, was reminded of his grandfather’s impact every time he walked into Notre Dame Stadium. Morse’s donation funded the switch from grass to FieldTurf in 2014.
As a high school star in Traverse City, Mich., Bullough was a Notre Dame recruit but opted to follow in the path of his father Shane and paternal grandfather Hank Bullough — the latter a former NFL player, assistant and head coach who died in 2019 — and play for the Spartans.
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Every fall in Bullough’s youth, there would be at least one family trip to South Bend for an Irish football Saturday. Signing on to coach linebackers, Bullough said in late July, “was a no-brainer” after a lifetime of savoring his grandfather’s stories of Notre Dame football lore.
“I’ve known about this place since I was a kid,” Bullough said. “It’s always been special to me. This is as close to coming home as it gets. This is home to me.”
Follow Notre Dame football writer Mike Berardino on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Former Notre Dame football captain Jim Morse dies at 87
