Chris Morris, The Voice Of Whaler Sports, Signs Off For Final Time

For the final time as the lead broadcaster of the Nantucket Sports Connection/OurNCTV, Chris Morris, the Voice of Whaler Sports, signed off and bid farewell to the island community after calling hundreds of games and taking island sports coverage to new heights since he began broadcasting Whaler sports during the COVID pandemic.

Morris will be moving off island and is beginning a new chapter in Maine. Emotional after watching the Whaler’s 56-7 blowout victory over Martha’s Vineyard to keep the Island Cup on Nantucket, Morris couldn’t have asked for a better way to close out his broadcasting career on Nantucket and thanked the island community for embracing and supporting the broadcasts.

“Hopefully it’s not the final final, but certainly this chapter comes to an end,” Morris said. “Humble beginnings with Sean Davis and I, and certainly have to tip my cap to Chris Maury who was the first to give me a call (during the pandemic) and say, ‘Hey is there anything you can do here?’ And now, to go from a telephone jack and kids playing in masks to today, it is obviously an accomplishment by many people.”

Morris said he is most proud of the work he and OurNCTV have done to incorporate students into the broadcasts. He said giving high school kids an opportunity to work in a broadcast helps them gain an early advantage as they venture off to college and begin pursuing a career in broadcast journalism and/or sports media. Morris mentioned some of the students who have played critical roles in Whaler sports broadcasts in recent years including 2026 NHS graduates Colby Lucas, who is studying broadcast journalism at Syracuse University, Annie Ard, who is studying sports broadcasting at Arizona State University, and Ashley Klatt, who is studying sports management/communications at Endicott College.

“Great kids and best of luck to them with their future endeavors,” Morris said. “I hope to cross paths with them on TV, watching them on ESPN perhaps. But it's been a special ride. To be able to leave that kind of program with children and the community will be the biggest feather in my cap. Hopefully it helped them and will help them moving forward to achieve what they want to achieve.”

Morris said the success of the teams over the years makes it easier for him to do what he does. He noted how much of a thrill it was to call the 2024 MIAA Division 4 Boys Lacrosse State Championship as the Whalers went on to beat the Sandwich Blue Knights 7-6, and then to call two Island Cup victories including Saturday’s lopsided win. He said he is thrilled to know the broadcasts will be done for years to come in such high quality.

“To be able to be at the ground level of something like this, and see it flourish and you know, exponentially grow into what it is now. Again, a testament to Charles Douglas because none of this, none of this happens without Charles Douglas (of OurNCTV),” Morris said. “So his arrival certainly took this into not only the next level, but it kept it going. Now it's going to stay.”

While Morris signed off for the final time as the station's lead broadcaster, he didn’t rule out potentially stepping back into the booth whenever able if future Whaler teams are able to make it to the postseason and compete in road playoff matchups.

“Off-island playoff games, here we go,” Morris said. “I'm ready to go for any of those. Hopefully we will sneak back for some more visits. But again, I know it's in very, very capable and good hands. So that's all I could possibly ask for.”