Paul Morris, who spent 38 years as the Maple Leafs PA announcer, dies at 86

Three ushers watch as Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs players line up for the playing of the national anthems before the start of the Leafs' final game at Maple Leaf Gardens, in Toronto, Saturday, Feb. 13, 1999. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

TORONTO — Paul Morris, who served as the Toronto Maple Leafs PA announcer for 38 years, has died. He was 86.

Morris died Thursday in Oshawa, Ont., after a lengthy illness, according to the Mount Lawn Funeral Home and Cemetery in Whitby, Ont.

Born June 28, 1938, in Toronto, Morris spent his entire working career at Maple Leaf Gardens in the sound department as well as handling public address duties.

Morris’s deadpan delivery provided the backdrop to generations of Maple Leaf fans.

Morris was at the microphone the last time the Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967, with Toronto defeating the visiting Montreal Canadiens 3-1 to win the series in six games.

“Clarence Campbell, the president of the National Hockey League, will now present the Stanley Cup to the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Morris said at the time.

“It’s home,” Morris told the CBC in an interview that aired during Toronto’s final game at Maple Leaf Gardens on Feb. 13, 1999. “It always has been home because my father (Doug, who became the Gardens' chief technician) started on the building when they put the shovel in the ground. And he was here until he died.

“So our family, our whole life, right from the very first that I can remember, revolved around what was on at the Gardens.”

Morris acknowledged sadness at the end of the Gardens.

“I also recognize that nothing goes on forever. Everything comes to an end sooner or later,” he said.

Morris started with the junior Marlies in 1958 and was elevated in 1961, succeeding Red Barber as the Leafs' PA announcer. Barber had served as announcer from the building’s opening in 1931.

Morris retired at the end of the 1998-99 season, giving way to Andy Frost.

“I’m proud of it,” Morris, speaking of his job as PA announcer, told the Toronto Star in 2016. “I enjoyed having done it. It was a great job.”

Mike Ross became the Leafs' fourth PA announcer, beginning with the 2016-2017 season.

“His was the voice I grew up hearing on Saturday nights sitting alongside my Grandpa. RIP Mr. Morris,” Ross said in a social media post.

The Toronto Maple Leafs posted on X Monday evening: “Paul never missed a game from 1961 to 1999. He called the first game at the Gardens, and was the first voice at Scotiabank Arena. More than an announcer, Paul was part of Leafs' history. His voice and legacy will forever echo in Leafs Nation.”

Morris is survived by Marion, his wife of 52 years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2025.

The Canadian Press