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David Morrow (sports)

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David Morrow
CollegePrinceton
ConferenceIvy
SportLacrosse
PositionDefenseman
Career1990–present
NationalityAmerican
Career highlights
Awards
Honors
Championships
Ivy League regular season (1992, 1993)
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship (1992)
Tournaments
1990 NCAA, 1991 NCAA, 1992 NCAA, 1993 NCAA
Medal record
Representing  United States
Lacrosse
World Lacrosse Championship
Gold medal – first place 1994 Manchester Field lacrosse
Gold medal – first place 1998 Baltimore Field lacrosse

David K. Morrow is an entrepreneur, businessman, and former lacrosse defenseman. He starred as a member of the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team from 1990 through 1993. He was a three-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American (two-time first team). He is a co-founder of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and an innovator of the titanium lacrosse stick and hockey stick.

He is the most recent defenseman to earn the NCAA Lacrosse player of the year award and a two-time NCAA Lacrosse defenseman of the year. He was a three-time first team All-Ivy League selection. In his four-year college career, Princeton won the school's first NCAA tournament Championship, two Ivy League Championships and earned the school's first four NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament invitations. Following college, he represented Team USA in the 1994 and 1998 World Lacrosse Championships and was named to the 1998 All-World Team.

His equipment company, Warrior Sports, is a leading equipment provider to professional, collegiate and interscholastic teams and players. It provides a variety of equipment and has propagated the interest in titanium material for use in lacrosse and ice hockey equipment. He has expanded professional lacrosse from box lacrosse to field lacrosse by co-founding the MLL.

Background

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Morrow was raised in Troy, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, where his father operated a tubing shop. He was a defenseman in both lacrosse and hockey. He attended Brother Rice High School in the nearby Bloomfield Township in Oakland County.[1]

College career

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In his first year at Princeton, he nearly quit the lacrosse team when he realized that, because of his background, he was behind the other players in his understanding of the game. He felt he might be better off focusing on ice hockey. Princeton head coach Bill Tierney convinced him to use his speed to run with the offensive players and to keep his stick in front of them, which encouraged him to adapt his natural speed to the sport.[1] He earned his first start as a sophomore in 1991.[2]

In one season, Morrow broke or bent 25 aluminum lacrosse sticks.[2] After tinkering with the lacrosse stick design at his father's shop, Morrow introduced a titanium version of the stick in the 1992 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament.[3] Morrow scored two goals in the 16–14 semifinals victory over North Carolina in the first game using the titanium stick.[1] Princeton went on to win the tournament, its first NCAA national championship.[4][5] During the 1993 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament, Morrow shut down Loyola's Kevin Beach, who had 6 goals in the first round game.[6][7][8] He was selected to the All-tournament team that year.[9] During his four years, Princeton earned its first four berths in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship.[10] The 1992 and 1993 teams were undefeated 6–0 outright Ivy League champions.[11][12]

Morrow was a first team USILA All-American Team selection in 1992 and 1993 and a third team selection in 1991.[13][14][15] He was a three-time first team All-Ivy League selection (1991, 1992 and 1993).[16] Morrow is one of only two and the most recent defenseman to earn the Lt. Raymond Enners Award as the NCAA Lacrosse player of the year award.[1] He twice earned the Schmeisser Award (1992, 1993) as the NCAA Lacrosse defenseman of the year.[17] Morrow was selected to the NCAA Lacrosse Silver Anniversary team in 1995.[18] Morrow was drafted by the Philadelphia Wings during the 1994 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft.[19] He won gold medals at the 1994 and 1998 World Lacrosse Championships and was named to the 1998 World Lacrosse Championship All-World team.[20]

Professional career

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Three Warrior lacrosse stick shafts.

In 1991, one of his father's customers was attempting to modernize the snowshoe with experimental materials such as titanium.[1] At the time, lacrosse sticks were made of aluminum that could get bent during the game.[1] Morrow was breaking and bending sticks at a rapid rate.[21] Morrow noticed titanium was lighter and more durable than aluminum. Thus, at his father's suggestion,[21] he incorporated it into the lacrosse stick the following year.[1] A year later, he began his own business, selling his first sticks in February 1993.[2][21] In 1993, he was affiliated with the Philadelphia Wings but became a free agent.[22] Morrow was selected for Team USA that would compete at the 1994 World Lacrosse Championship.[23] After being named to the 1998 All World team following the 1998 World Lacrosse Championship, he retired from competitive lacrosse to focus on the business.[1]

Today, lacrosse sticks by all manufacturers use titanium, and players at all levels use titanium sticks.[1] Morrow's idea led to his own business venture, Warrior Lacrosse, which is named after the Brother Rice High School Warriors whom he played for in high school.[1][2] Morrow sold controlling interest of his company to New Balance in January 2004 but continues to be the President and CEO of Warrior Sports.[1] As of 2001, Warrior and its 50 employees were the official equipment supplier of the U.S. Men's National Teams program and the MLL.[24] As of 2007, Warrior Sports held a 40% market share in the lacrosse industry. The company had several divisions including Warrior Lacrosse, Brine Sports, and Warrior Sports Canada. In 2005 Warrior sports acquired Innovative Hockey and As of 2007, it had 600 employees and over 150 National Hockey League players using their composite hockey sticks.[1] Warrior sports sponsors over 200 youth programs, tournaments, and camps each year. It also sponsors professional and intercollegiate teams. In addition, the company puts on clinics and demonstrations around the world.[25]

Morrow founded MLL along with Jake Steinfeld.[25] He originally served on the prospective league's advisory committee.[26] In 2001, Morrow's newly opened six-team MLL opened as a professional field lacrosse complement to the box lacrosse National Lacrosse League. It opened on June 7 at Homewood Field in Baltimore near the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.[24] The league has been successful and has been televised on ESPN2 since 2003. It is under contract to be televised on the network until 2016.[27] In 2018, he was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.[28]

Personal

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As of March 2007, he and his wife Christine, who is also a Princeton alumna, had three young children: three-year-old Samantha, two-year-old Kevin and newborn Jessica.[1] Christine Schluter, a member of Princeton's Class of 1992, was a geochemist in Boulder, Colorado when she moved to Detroit to work for Morrow.[24]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "The Ultimate Warrior". Princeton Athletic Communications. March 23, 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Hensley, Jamison (July 17, 1998). "Forceful Morrow enjoys last laugh Lacrosse: Once derided, the 1993 Player of the Year uses a revolutionary process to stick it to detractors". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  3. ^ Eschenbach, Stephen (April 13, 2007). "Dick Dreissigacker". Ivy@50. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  4. ^ Wallace, William N. (May 26, 1992). "Lacrosse; Princeton Wins and Breaks Monopoly". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  5. ^ Preston, Mike (May 24, 1992). "Princeton unseats N. Carolina, 16-14". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  6. ^ Wallace, William N. (May 23, 1993). "Lacrosse; Princeton's Defense Dispatches Loyola". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  7. ^ Preston, Mike (May 23, 1993). "Princeton puts on clinic, gives Loyola tough lesson Deliberate style ousts Greyhounds". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  8. ^ Preston, Mike (May 21, 1993). "Finally face to face: Beach vs. Morrow Pairing highlights Loyola-Princeton". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  9. ^ Brown, Doug (June 1, 1993). "Martin does job on Riter, but gets stung by winner". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  10. ^ "Men's Championship Results" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 5. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  11. ^ "Ivy League Lacrosse 1991–1992". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2005. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  12. ^ "Ivy League Lacrosse 1992–1993". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2005. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  13. ^ "1991 Men's All-Americans" (PDF). United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  14. ^ "1992 Men's All-Americans" (PDF). United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  15. ^ "1993 Men's All-Americans" (PDF). United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  16. ^ "Men's Ivy League Outstanding Performers". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  17. ^ "Men's Lacrosse" (PDF). Princeton University. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  18. ^ Wallace, William N. (April 26, 1995). "College Lacrosse Report". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  19. ^ "Philadelphia Wings Lacrosse Media Guide" (PDF). Philadelphia Wings. p. 59. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  20. ^ Pietramala, David G.; Neil A. Grauer & Bob Scott (2006). Lacrosse: technique and tradition. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-8018-8410-1. John Hess Princeton lacrosse.
  21. ^ a b c Siegel, Eric (April 11, 1998). "Equipment makers face off Lacrosse: Flying shots include lawsuits and lucrative sponsorships in hot off-field competition". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  22. ^ "BaseballCalifornia Angels -- Announced that the club has..." The Baltimore Sun. November 17, 1993. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  23. ^ Brown, Doug (July 2, 1993). "ILF limits World rosters to 23 U.S. title defense will lose depth". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  24. ^ a b c Ewell, Nate (September 12, 2001). "Launching a league: David Morrow '93 takes a shot with pro lacrosse". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  25. ^ a b "About MLL: Founders". Major League Lacrosse. Archived from the original on August 13, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  26. ^ Hensley, Jamison (May 25, 1999). "Pro outdoor league set for summer 2000 debut". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  27. ^ Barnowski, Nick (May 8, 2009). "Welcome to Major League Lacrosse". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  28. ^ Ohanian, Paul (September 29, 2018). "Cassese, Haugen, Morrow, and Powell Join National Lacrosse Hall of Fame". US Lacrosse. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
[edit]
Preceded by Lt. Raymond Enners Award
1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Schmeisser Award
1992,1993 		Succeeded by

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