Date of birth: 10 September 1975, Newport, Gwent, South Wales.
British career record 1991-96 Reading 1997 Stoke 1998-03 Reading 2004 Reading, Poole 2005 Newcastle, Arena-Essex (Lakeside) 2006 Belle Vue 2007 Newport, Reading, Birmingham 2008 Birmingham 2009 Stoke, Lakeside
PHILLIP William Morris brings a wealth of experience to the middle order of the Stoke Potters Premier League team and the bottom end of the Lakeside Hammers Elite League squad for the 2009 campaign.
Serious internal injuries sustained in a crash at Mildenhall followed by a dislocated shoulder in his first meeting back at Rye House ruined the popular Welshman's 2008 campaign with Birmingham. But he proved he was still a force to be reckoned with in the 5 matches he rode for the Brummies where he scored 40 points at an average of almost 8.50 per meeting.
Morris joins the Potters on his 2008 starting average of 5.88, which in the view of Potters promoter Dave Tattum is an absolute steal. The fact that Phil can also double up for an Elite League team on a 3 point average, saw Lakeside Hammers quickly snap him up to share a spot in their squad with Chris Mills of Sheffield.
The Welsh Wizard, or Wizzer for short, originally joined Reading as sixteen-year-old in 1991 and, apart from a one-year loan deal with Stoke in 1997, rode continuously for the Smallmead-based club until the end of the 2004 campaign.
He won a Championship medal as a teenager with the Racers, when Per Jonsson spearheaded the team to the 1992 British League title. The same year saw Reading win the BSPA Cup, defeating Poole 92-88 on aggregate in the final.
Then, in 1993, there were more medals for Morris, as the Racers triumphed in both the Premiership and the Four-Team Championship. And, in 1998, there was also a 103-77 aggregate success to enjoy over Peterborough in the final of the Premier League Knock-Out Cup.
During his time with the Berkshire side, he was rewarded with a benefit year in 2000 and his Testimonial meeting duly took place at the Reading raceway on 31 July. This saw a host of stars honour the club legend in an individual meeting, with Craig Watson eventually taking victory in the final ahead of Todd Wiltshire, Morris himself and Armando Castagna.
The year coincided with him racing to a then best-ever league average of 8.29, having yielded 266 points from twenty-five fixtures. He increased that fractionally over the next couple of years with the Racers, finishing with league figures of 8.46 and 8.48 in 2001 and 2002, respectively.
The 2002 season saw Phil produce a brilliant performance in the Premier League Riders' Championship at Belle Vue on 8 September, when he netted 11 points and then finished behind Brent Werner in the semi-final to book a place in the meeting's showdown race. The title subsequently went the way of Adam Shields ahead of Craig Watson, with Morris gallantly filling third spot.
His 2003 campaign was cut short by a knee injury after he had completed just four league matches for a 7.79 average. Morris was back to his best in 2004, though, when he ended the term with an average of 8.60, having accrued 233 points from twenty-six league meetings.
There was further glory too, when he teamed up with Danny Bird to take victory in the Premier League Pairs Championship at Smallmead Stadium on 20 June. The home duo topped their qualifying group with 24 points, before getting the better of Glasgow's Shane Parker and George Stancl at the semi-final stage. Amidst a great atmosphere, they then superbly defeated the Stoke duo of Paul Pickering and Alan Mogridge in the grand final.
The 2004 season also saw Phil represent Poole at Elite League level, making three appearances as the South Coast club's official No. 9 rider.
Unfortunately, Reading had to let someone go because of the points-limit in 2005 and the Welshman made the surprise decision to link with Newcastle for the year. He instantly endeared himself to the Geordie fans after funding from his own pocket the flight up to Newcastle during the winter to attend a Supporters' Club meeting.
He was also appointed skipper of the Diamonds, but, regrettably, he was to suffer a season of injury problems that blunted his scoring. He finished his one-year stint with the Byker outfit on a 6.65 average, having notched 116 points from eighteen league matches.
Reading moved into the Elite League at the start of the 2006 season, but Morris didn't figure in the club's team plans, eventually getting himself fixed up with fellow top-flight side Belle Vue. In typical fashion, he battled away and worked extremely hard for every point with the Aces and finished the season with a 4.24 average from thirty-three league meetings.
The Manchester outfit battled through to the final of the Knock-Out Cup, but went down narrowly, 92-90, on aggregate to Coventry. Phil determinedly netted 7+2 points in the first leg at Kirkmanshulme Lane on 9 October, but he was to end the season on the injured list after a heat eight spill in the return match at Brandon Stadium four days later.
Morris started the 2007 campaign with his hometown club, Newport and headed their averages for most of the campaign but he was released in September, when a re-shuffle saw the arrival of Polish rider Sebastian Truminski. At the time of his departure from the Wasps, Phil had ridden in twenty-three league matches for the team, scoring 143 points for a 6.52 average.
He had also been named as Reading's No. 8 rider at the beginning of the term, but shortly after the mid-season change of promotion at the Berkshire club, he was replaced in the position by Chris Neath, having made just three Elite League appearances for 11 points and an average of 3.47.
When he joined Birmingham towards the end of the 2007, amidst the club's injury crisis. He was to race in eight matches (2 Premier League, 1 Premier Trophy and 5 Young Shield) for the side, typically giving 100 per cent effort in the cause of his club. His best performance for the Brummies occurred on 13 October, when he notched 13 points in the Young Shield semi-final at Stoke. A performance which many at Stoke will take great heart and confidence from for the 2009 campaign.
STATISTICS (SEASON BY SEASON)
Team
Year
Mts
Rds
Pts
Bon
Tot
Avge
Fl
Pd
Reading
1991
6
22
6
2
8
1.45
0
0
Reading
1992
48
165
85
35
120
2.91
0
0
Reading
1993
43
169
219
23
242
5.73
0
0
Reading
1994
25
104
106
26
132
5.08
0
0
Reading
1995 *
42
193
189
53
242
5.02
0
0
Reading
1996
35
132
123
34
157
4.76
0
0
Stoke
1997
13
68
98
13
111
6.53
0
0
Reading
1998
25
94
102
19
121
5.15
0
0
Reading
1999 *
36
165
290
19
309
7.49
0
1
Reading
2000
39
208
408
31
439
8.44
1
0
Reading
2001
39
172
325
37
362
8.42
1
3
Reading
2002
38
182
358
37
395
8.68
0
1
Reading
2003
7
35
58
4
62
7.09
0
0
Reading
2004
52
228
436
30
466
8.18
2
1
Poole
2004
3
11
6
1
7
2.55
0
0
Newcastle
2005
34
140
211
23
234
6.69
0
0
Arena-Essex
2005
10
41
35
8
43
4.2
0
0
Belle Vue
2006
43
186
154
37
191
4.11
0
0
Newport
2007
34
153
232
30
262
6.85
0
0
Reading
2007
3
15
11
2
13
3.47
0
0
Birmingham
2007
8
43
70
8
78
7.26
0
0
Birmingham
2008
5
19
36
4
40
8.42
0
0
TOTAL
.
588
2545
3556
476
4034
6.34
4
6
* Denotes ever-present. Figures relate to all official appearances.
ADDITIONAL INFO: ‘Wizzer' was rewarded for his loyalty to Reading with a benefit year in 2000 and his testimonial meeting duly took place at Smallmead Stadium on 31 July, when Craig Watson took victory in an individual event.