USC Baseball Ends, Student's New Venture Blooms

A class project turned into an unexpected business for college student Ryan Morris — and a newfound appreciation for America’s men and women in the service. It also took one residual of his dashed dream: a baseball cap.

His original plan was to be entering his final season of baseball for the University of Southern California Trojans. But instead, last November, he was called into his coach’s office and cut from the team.

After several weeks of sulking, moping around and feeling sorry for himself, Morris got a phone call from his grandfather, who knows a thing or two about business--and life. More on that later.

In a matter of months, Morris, 21, is now CEO of Salute the Brave,” a line of baseball caps and other garments featuring an emblem and that slogan. For each one sold, he sends one to a member of the military.

The items that the military members receive have the logo, with the saying “Free to Be Because of Me,” which Morris said are a “huge hit with the troops, they really wear them with pride.”

Salute the Brave is expanding every day. Morris now has 58 representatives in 31 schools across the country, including California State University, Long Beach.

Sara Pickering, a member of Delta Gamma, is the CSULB representative. Morris said she is working on organizing a big promotional event in November in preparation for Christmas shopping.

The event will also be a competition between CSULB sororities and fraternities, in an effort to boost the sales. Morris said this was done at USC, and one sorority sold 40 items in two hours. He said CSULB will try to top that by selling 100 items.

It was his grandfather who snapped Morris out of his morose self-pity, he said. His elder happens to be Mervin G. Morris, founder of the Mervyn's clothing conglomerate. And he told his grandson to look at the situation he was in as an opportunity.

“He told me to make a difference,” Morris said. “He told me to put all this new free time to good use, to get involved in something bigger than myself. He was the motivational boost I needed, and it was his words that brought me back to my business plan.”

The plan was created by Morris in his Entrepreneurial Business class at USC. He never thought anyone besides his professor would see it. He definitely never thought he'd be turning it into a reality.

“I dedicated 50 plus hours a week to playing Division I baseball,” he said. “I never thought this was going to be any more than a plan. But now I had time, and I believed in the idea and I wanted to find a way to give back to those who give us so much.”

Morris, with the help of his grandfather, finally realized how good his life was, even without baseball. He lives in beautiful, sunny California, he is getting a top-notch education from USC and has a whole life ahead of him — “all the while, men and women are losing their lives to make sure mine is better,” he said.

So, after winter break, he returned to campus rejuvenated, and with the support of his grandfather, family and professors, Morris turned his pencil sketches into real-life stitches and seams.

The concept — baseball hats.

Though the warehouse still remains in the garage of his parent’s Northern California home, he is filling and shipping orders as they come in. 

Morris sold his first hat on May 6, since then he has sold over nearly 1,000 hats, 1,000 shirts and 200 bracelets. And for each item Salute the Brave sells, one is donated to California’s own, Operation Gratitude, which includes the items in care packages sent to military personnel stationed overseas.

Morris said he never thought of a life without baseball, yet knew it would someday end. 

“I didn’t think it would be taken from me as soon as it was,” he said. “But it really was the best thing that has ever happened to me. The U.S. Military is a team that not only myself, but everyone can get behind, this has been so rewarding.”

Though he has no ties to the military through friends or family, Morris said he has met some amazing people who have really opened his eyes to what the troops really go through.

“I continue to be amazed with the information that is available about our troops and what their lives are like,” he said. “I know a baseball hat isn’t much, but the more we sell, the more we show our support to these men and women who are risking their lives for ours.”

Morris said his goal, the original goal of the business plan, was to create something that is trendsetting, something people can identify and something that gives back or gives recognition to something good.

“I want to make this my career,” he said. “I want to continue to come up with more designs and more products, and I want to continue giving back to the troops.”