Joe Morgan

His first wife was Gloria Morgan and had two daughters with her - Angela and Lisa. The marriage ended in divorce in 1988.

In 1988, he was detained by police officers at the ‘Los Angeles International Airport’ and was accused of being a drug dealer. After the police let him go, he wasn’t allowed to file a complaint regarding the grievance. However, a lawsuit regarding the issue was settled a few years later when the ‘Los Angeles City Council’ agreed to pay Morgan $796,000.

He married Theresa Morgan in 1990 and is still married to her. He has fathered two daughters with her - Ashley and Kelly.

Joe Morgan was born to Leonard Morgan, a tire and rubber worker, and Ollie Morgan in Bonham, Texas. When he was five, his family moved to Oakland, California, where he spent his childhood. He had a small physique which brought about his nickname, ‘Little Joe’.

He studied at the ‘Castlemont High School’. He began his playing career in 1962 when he joined the ‘Houston Colt .45s’, (which later became ‘Houston Astros’) as a free agent.

From 1962 to 1971, he played ten seasons for the Astros and built a reputation as a fine player, accumulating 72 home-runs and 219 stolen bases.

Although he played very well for the Astros, the team preferred players with more power. Additionally, Morgan had a few disciplinary issues with the manager Harry Walker. Thus, in 1972, he was transferred to ‘Cincinnati Reds’ as part of a high-profile exchange deal involving 8 players between the two teams.

In his first season of 1972 at the club, he hit .292 with 16 home runs, 73 RBI and 58 stolen bases. The Reds were the ‘National League’ pennant winners and also won the ‘National League Championship Series’, but lost 4-3 to ‘Oakland Athletics’ in the ‘World Series’.

In 1973, Morgan won the ‘National League West division’ with the Reds, but the team lost the pennant by a score of 2-3 to ‘New York Mets’.

The year 1975 was a landmark one for both Morgan and the Reds, as they beat ‘Boston Red Sox’ 4-3 to win the ‘World Series’ after a period of 35 years. Morgan was outstanding throughout and chosen as the ‘National League Most Valuable Player’ for that season.

He was a part of the ‘All-Star’ team ten times between 1966 and 1979.

He won the ‘Gold Glove Award’ as a second baseman for five consecutive years, from 1973-1977.

He was the ‘National League Most Valuable Player’ for two consecutive seasons with the ‘Cincinnati Reds’.

In 1987, he was inducted into the ‘Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame’.

He was inducted into the ‘Baseball Hall of Fame’ in 1990.