No real mystery. Morris is the Anglicised version of the Roman name Mauritius. Mauritius was a Roman soldier who led a legion of Christians that were slaughtered by the Roman Emperor for refusing to worship Roman gods. He later became Saint Maurice, and was the patron saint of soldiers. Later Christian soldiers who placed their faith and survival in God were sometimes referred to as St. Maurice’s Men.
9 Man Morris is a board strategy game where you’re pitting 9 “soldiers” against each other in “combat”. Given that history, it’s a bit understandable how the name came to be.
Hey, that’s pretty interesting. Thanks for the information, didn’t think I’d ever know.
Actually, I believe that it was the site where they fit 9 guys in a Morris Mini, true story!