Guilford County Sports HOF bios on Sammy Johnson, Allen Morris and Siri Mullinix

Sammy Johnson– played high school football at High Point Central High School where he was a quarterback, defensive back, kicker, and punter which made him famous for “never leaving the field except for halftime.” He was an All Conference Quarterback for the Conference Championship team and was named All-State and All- Southern. He received the honor of being named the starting quarterback and captain of the East-West All Star game and was a starter of the Shrine Bowl.

Johnson was recruited by most colleges in the region and chose the University of North Carolina where he played from 1970-1973 under Coach Bill Dooley. Recruited as a quarterback, Johnson spent his early career as a linebacker but moved to running back as a junior. The Tar Heels were the ACC Champions in 1972 when they finished 11-1 and won the Sun Bowl. Johnson was selected All-ACC, permanent team captain and Most Valuable Player in 1973 and was a 1,000 yard rusher.

Johnson was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1974 draft as a running back and spent 6 seasons in the NFL. Johnson ran for a 9-yard touchdown on his first NFL carry and scored a touchdown in both NFC Divisional and NFC Championship games. Johnson returned kickoffs, played on special teams and served as a third down specialist. Johnson played for the Minnesota Vikings where he played in Superbowl XI vs. Oakland and signed with Green Bay in 1978.

Johnson retired from the NFL in 1980 and opened Sportscenter Athletic Club in Concord in 1982 which has grown and he now operates multiple Sportscenters. The largest Sportscenter in North Carolina is located in High Point and was built in 2000. Johnson and his wife reside in High Point and have 3 children and 4 grandchildren.

Allen Morris was a top tennis player and coach. Morris was ranked 16th in U.S. in 1956 and advanced to quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Morris was an alternate on three U.S. Davis Cup teams.

Morris became a top local and age-group player in Greensboro and won seven N.C. open singles titles a record that still holds. Morris has also won state singles titles in New York, New Jersey, Georgia, and South Carolina. In 1978, Morris was ranked in the top 10 in world Seniors. Morris captured 1977 and 1978 U.S. Senior Clay Court Championships in both singles and doubles.

Morris was named the Men’s tennis coach at UNC in 1980 and his teams won several ACC titles and was named ACC Coach of the Year four times. He was the Athletic Director at his Alma Mater Presbyterian College from 1994 to 2000.

Morris is a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame, the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame, Southern Tennis Hall of Fame, South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. During his tennis career, he had wins over Arthur Ashe, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Neil Fraser, and Ashley Cooper.

Siri Lynn Mullinix led Ragsdale High School to the 1994 State Championship where she was the MVP. Siri’s achievements on the soccer field began at an early age where she played for the 78’ Greensboro Twisters of the Greensboro Youth Soccer Association who won the North Carolina State Cup in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1995. In 1992 and 1995, the Twisters finished third in the US Youth Soccer Southern Regionals and in 1995 Mullinix was received the FIFA Fair Play Sportsmanship Award and the Most Outstanding Goalkeeper Award.

Skipping her senior year in high school, Mullinix went to the University of North Carolina to play soccer where she was a three year starter playing in 90 career games as a Tar Heel, starting all 26 games as a senior. Mullinix was a member of 3 ACC Championship and 4 NCAA Championship teams at North Carolina. In 1997, Mullinix was named the Defensive MVP of NCAA Championship game in Greensboro where she earned a 120 minute shut out of the Notre Dame Irish to win the title.  

Mullinix was a member of the U.S. National Team where she went on to earn a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. As the starting keeper for the U.S. team in 2000, she appeared in 29 matches, with a record 28 starts. She also set a record with 15 shutouts during the calendar year, recording an 18-5-5 mark with a 0.60 goals against average. She was named the best goalkeeper at the 2000 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup.

Mullinix spent three seasons with the Washington Freedom in the WUSA. The squad made back-to-back Founders Cup game appearances in 2002 and 2003, winning the 2003 championship. In 2003, Mullinix earned a place on the WUSA All-Star team. In May of 2009, Mullinix joined Mia Hamm as the first ever Inductees to the Washington Freedom Hall of Fame. Mullinix was the Assistant Coach for the UNCG Women’s Soccer team from 2005-2008 and and currently is the Assistant Coach for the Virginia Commonwealth Women’s Soccer team.

2 thoughts on “Guilford County Sports HOF bios on Sammy Johnson, Allen Morris and Siri Mullinix

  1. Is the wall at New Bridge Park the only place where you can see the inductees of the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame? Do they have a website?

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