Morris Moorawnick Knew The Sports Landscape by Raymond Rolak

DETROIT– Longtime Detroit sports figure Morris Moorawnick — A celebrated statistician and professional scorekeeper, died recently at 83. He had been ailing from a series of strokes. He was very proud of his Russian-Polish-Jewish heritage and upbringing, and was a great ambassador of Judeo-Christian relations.

Moorawnick, a native Detroiter, was best known for keeping stats for the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings, starting in 1947. He worked for the Piston’s before they moved to Detroit from Fort Wayne in 1958. Prior to that, he was the sports statistician for Wayne State University. He also helped with the great Wayne State basketball teams of Coach Joel Mason in the 1950’s. He was shy of getting his degree by three credits as he was on a music scholarship at WSU in the early 50’s. He went on to become a professional baseball scorer, with a national reputation.

As a youth he was a professional pin-ball player, table tennis champion and master piano player. His father Jacek, would often call to him in Yiddish, “Morrie the Guntcher”, which loosely translates to ‘one who can play without tilting’.

He loved to show off his NBA Championship rings from the ‘Bad Boys’ days. Also, his Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Rings. Last year he was celebrated by American Legion Baseball for his longtime support. In fact, he went on tour showing off his championship rings. He was also honored at Comerica Park by the Ilitch Family for his contributions to amateur sports and excellence of sportsmanship.

Moorawnick worked for nearly every media outlet in the sports departments, including the Associated Press, the Detroit Times, the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press.

He lived to talk sports. “He was the greatest uncle,” said David Manning. “The highlight of my uncle’s life was being around the teams. The only thing better than that was eating all their food before the games.” He loved to eat and tried to keep a kosher table. He tried.

He prided his special friendship with hockey legend Gordy Howe and was a fixture at Olympia and Joe Louis Arena’s. He also travelled with and did stats for the University of Michigan baseball team. Morrie was well known in Ann Arbor and at Ray Fisher Baseball Stadium. He was known for his precise and small printing. He made keeping score of a baseball game an art. Moorawnick was chronicled in the 2009 book by James Robert Irwin, “Playing Ball with Legends: The Story of Don Lund”.

He cherished his ‘Black Bat’ trophies of which he had many. These were replica Hillerich and Bradsby, Louisville Slugger baseball bats with all the teammate’s names engraved in gold on them. They were given to national championship teams as a trophy. Lund, when he was coach of the 1962 NCAA baseball champions at Michigan included Moorawnick as an interregnal part of the team. Moorawnick also contributed to Detroit Pepsi, Detroit Edison Post-187, Detroit Adray, Detroit John F. Ivory, Detroit Stan Long Pontiac, Detroit Larco and Detroit I.T.M. national championship teams

He was known nationally for his knowledge of sports and immediate recall of trivial sports facts. “He was a walking encyclopedia of sports,” said longtime friend and former Detroit Tiger, Willie Horton. In 1959 he covered the NABF National Tournament in Altoona, PA and then hitch-hiked to Hastings, NE for the American Legion World Series. “I don’t know how he did it, but he was everywhere,” continued Horton. “He was a fixture at Northwestern Fields in Detroit.” Moorawnick never learned to drive.

During the summer to supplement his income, Moorawnick would provide room and board for visiting elite baseball players that played in the old Hearst, Free Press and Adray summer leagues including baseball great, Steve Garvey. When he still traveled, he was a fixture every year at the All-American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Dearborn, Michigan sportsman Mike Adray used to host Moorawnick anonymously.

In his golden years Moorawnick enjoyed reading and tending to his tomato garden. He is survived by a sister, Marian and nieces and nephews. The family asks that memorial donations be made to one’s charity of choice in Morries name.