Spike has a 'hole-in-one' personality By Ron Johnston Spike Morton made a golf pilgrimage a couple of years ago. The 1970 Heidelberg University graduate realized a lifelong ambition when he attended the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. The photo of Morton on this page is from Facebook. He is clutching what appears to be a credential. He is all smiles, almost like he was in golf heaven. Morton wrote, “The holy grail – out of this world.” The 73-year-old Morton has been a golfing enthusiast pretty much his Spike Morton whole life. At Heidelberg, he was a golf letter winner and a member of the displays his H-Association. He always looked forward to the spring and getting out on credential for the the links at Mohawk Golf & Country Club in Tiffin. Masters Golf Tournament a few years ago. Actually, Morton was very sports-minded. At 6-foot-3, he also liked to hoop it up. Morton was on the freshman men’s dorm intramural championship basketball team that played and lost to the Bob Briggs-led Excelsior Society in Seiberling Gym. (Also on that intramural squad were Bob Roland, Dennis Lavelle, Frank Yanok, and myself.) Morton was an elementary education major. After graduation from the ‘Berg, he taught at the Groveport Madison Schools (near Columbus) until his retirement around 2000. He was also (and still is) “the life of the party.” Very personable, there’s nothing shy about him. He’s upbeat and has a terrific sense of humor. William H. Morton came to Heidelberg by way of Westfield, N.J., which is not far from New York City. William H.? No one ever addresses him William or Bill. He’s always gone by the moniker “Spike.” In college, Morton apparently picked up another nickname, “Jelly Roll,” after the jazz pianist named Jelly Roll Morton. In this photo from the 1970 Aurora, Spike Morton (left) poses with the golf team. The At age 13, Spike Morton sat in the left field other team members (left to right) are Mark seats and was nearby when New York Pena, Eric Lestin, Dave Scott and Rick Saunders. Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson slugged a grand slam against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium in the 1960 World Series. As a Heidelberg freshman, Morton roomed with Bob Henel on the fourth floor at Kreig Dorm. Jim Hines, Morton, myself, and Don Beitz, Jr., (I think) viewed the first Super Bowl (called the AFL-NFL World Championship back then) on a color TV set in a downtown Tiffin hotel lobby. Spike and I were roommates in our sophomore year on the second floor at Krieg. That same year, he met and started dating Paula Park from Tiffin. During Christmas break, he drove from Westfield to Churchville, N.Y., to visit me. We visited Buffalo and hooked up with DB (Don Beitz Jr.) and Hines. We went to a bowling alley/night club in Albion, N.Y., and partied with Bob Blamer and his girlfriend. During the summer of 1968, I visited Morton for a weekend in Westfield. We rode the subway, attended a Yankee-Orioles game, and spent time at Times Square. In 1969, Morton drove around Heidelberg and Tiffin in style in a Pontiac Firebird. The following year, after graduation, he and DB were the best men at my wedding in Tiffin. In 1971, Morton and Paula Park were married and honeymooned in California. They will be celebrating their golden anniversary next year. They live in Gahanna, a suburb of Columbus. The Mortons have two children – Brad and Abby Kaye. Since retiring, the Mortons have been traveling the country. Spike is also an assistant caddie master at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, a suburb north of Columbus. Posted in October 2020. .