Morgan, Joe L.
Baseball
b. Sept. 19, 1943, Bonham, TX
Only 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, Morgan was a good fielding second baseman with surprising power at the plate. He entered the major leagues with the NL's Houston Astros for brief trials in 1963 and 1964, then became a starter in 1965. He led the league with 97 walks that year.
After hitting a league-leading 11 triples in 1971, Morgan was traded to Cincinnati, where he became recognized as an outstanding player with the great "Big Red Machine" teams. Morgan led the NL with 115 walks and 122 runs scored in his first season with the Reds.
He led the league in walks again with 132 in 1975, when he batted .327, scored 107 runs, hit 17 home runs, and had 94 RBI to win the NL's most valuable player award. Morgan was the hero of Cincinnati's seven-game World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox. He singled with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to win the third game 6-5 and his RBI single in the 9th inning won the seventh game 4-3.
Morgan won his second straight MVP award in 1976, when he had his finest all-around season, batting .320 with a career high 27 home runs, leading the league in slugging with a .576 percentage, scoring 113 runs, and driving in 111. He batted .333 with 3 runs and 3 RBI when the Reds swept the New York Yankees in a four-game World Series.
Cincinnati traded Morgan back to Houston in 1980 and he went to the San Francisco Giants as a part-time player in 1981. He finished his career with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1982 and the AL's Oakland Athletics in 1983.
In 22 seasons, Morgan had 2,517 hits in 2,649 games, including 449 doubles, 96 triples, and 268 home runs. He stole 689 bases, scored 1,650 runs, and had 1,133 RBI.