October 15, 2024 Stories of sport and life
In short, a true legend.
Bob Morse. A great basketball player, with an awesome shot, excellent rebounder
Bob Morse was born on January 4, 1951 in Maryland (USA).
He arrived at Ignis in the 1972-73 season, and the reason for his selection was the perfectionism of the Bosnian coach Aza Nikolic, who, anxious to regain the supremacy over Olimpia Milano and, consequently, the Italian championship, thought it necessary to find a winger of superior stature to Manuel Raga.
Replacing the Mexican, so beloved by the people of Varese, seemed to be a completely wrong move and to many a real affront.
Today we know that Nikolic was right.
It may be a coincidence, but in his first year with Ignis, the American won all the trophies at stake : Champions Cup, Italian Championship, Intercontinental Cup and Italian Cup.
Just for the record, it should be noted that these successes were achieved from March 22, ’73 (Champions Cup final in Liège against CSKA Moscow, 71-66) to May 11, ’73 (Italian Cup final in Brescia against Saclà Asti, 94-65), with the interlude of the victorious Italian Championship playoff in Bologna on April 25: 74-70 against Simmenthal, and winning the Intercontinental Cup in Sao Paulo, Brazil, ahead of Sirio (BRA), Bayamont of Puerto Rico, Yugoplastika of Split (YUG) and Marathon Oil (USA).
This remains the authentic and only Italian basketball Grand Slam because it was won in the same sports season: same players and same coach.
Bob Morse started his activity in Varese at the age of twenty-one.
In the first five games of the ’72/’73 tournament : 27 points in Asti against Saclà (81-70) ; 45 at home with Fortitudo Bologna (89-53) ; 30 in Naples against Partenope (92-65) ; 39 in Varese against Reyer Venezia (89-66) and 35 in Milan against Mobilquattro (101-64).
He was always present at all the meetings of this memorable basketball team that has no equal in Italy.
These figures are something like the viaticum and the norm for his nine years in Varese, although after ’79, due to the weakening of the lineup after the passing years, the repetition of so many successes was no longer possible.
Bob Morse played 645 games, winning 504 and losing 141, with a winning percentage of 78.14%.
Bob Morse left Varese at the end of the ’80/’81 season, the last year of Guido Borghi’s management, the most troubled and difficult because of the well-known financial difficulties.
He played for three seasons in Antibes, in the French league, partly because of a brain-dead rule in the Italian regulations of the time that prohibited foreign players already registered with Italian basketball clubs in the A1 series from changing teams, only being transferable to newly promoted teams in the top division.
He stayed there for three years before returning to Italy to finish his career in the ranks of Cantine Riunite Reggio Emilia after two more star seasons.
On May 27, 1986, Morse presented his book “I, Bob Morse” at the Veroni bookstore in Varese, and three days later he played his farewell game in a friendly in Reggio Emilia in front of 4,000 spectators.
In the first half he played with his old teammates of the glorious Ignis and in the second half with Cantine Riunite, his last team, against DiVarese.
A great basketball player, with a great shot, excellent rebounder and defender like few others.
A very fair athlete, serious and meticulous in training as well as in everyday life.
In short, a true legend.
