Joseph Michael Morgan (born November 19, 1930) is an American retired infielder,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and scout in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Early life

A native and lifelong resident of

Walpole, Massachusetts Walpole is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Walpole Town, as the Census refers to it, is located about south of downtown Boston and north of Providence, Rhode Island. The population of Walpole was 26,383 at the 2020 censu ...

, Morgan graduated from

Walpole High School Walpole High School (WHS) is a four-year public high school in Walpole, Massachusetts, United States, within Norfolk County. The school educates students grades 9 through 12 and is the only high school in the Walpole Public School district. As ...

and attended Boston College, where he played varsity

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

—he was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who led the Eagles in points as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

—as well as baseball. Morgan was also elected as team captain for Boston College's baseball team during his junior year. He signed his first professional baseball contract on June 20, 1952, with his then-hometown

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

team, the Boston Braves.

Playing career

Morgan stood tall and weighed during his active career. When he made Major League Baseball at age 28 in , after military service and a stint in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

, his parent team had become the Milwaukee Braves. A left-handed-hitting second baseman,

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, Morgan batted over the .300 mark three times in the high minors between 1956 and 1959. He could not, however, crack the Braves' lineup, nor those of the Philadelphia Phillies,

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. In parts of four Major League seasons, he appeared in 88 games, collected 36 hits, and batted .193. His two MLB home runs came during his stint with the 1960 Indians within a two-week period, as he hit solo shots off

Chuck Estrada Charles Leonard Estrada (born February 15, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from to , playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. After his retirem ...

August 30 and Ted Sadowski on September 10. In the latter contest, Morgan's three hits and two runs scored helped the Indians to a 5–4 victory over the Washington Senators. In 13 seasons in the minor leagues, Morgan had 1,353 hits (with 117 home runs) and compiled a lifetime batting mark of .278. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Triple-A International League in 1964 after batting .290 with 16 home runs for the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

Managerial career

Pittsburgh Pirates' organization

In 1966, Morgan became a manager in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates, rising in 1970 to Triple-A with the

Columbus Jets The Columbus Jets were a Minor League baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, from 1955 to 1970. The team moved from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where they were known as the Ottawa Athletics. The Jets were a member of the Triple-A Internationa ...

of the International League. In 1971, he moved with the Jets to Charleston, West Virginia, and became skipper of the

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 1977 the f ...

. Morgan was called to the Major Leagues to serve as a Pittsburgh coach under

Bill Virdon William Charles Virdon (June 9, 1931 – November 23, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Virdon played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates from 195 ...

in , when the Pirates won the

National League East Division The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

title but fell in the 1972 NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds. Morgan then returned to the minors as the Pirates' Triple-A manager. In 1973, his Charlies won 85 games and the division title, but lost in the International League playoffs to the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

in five games. Nevertheless, Morgan was selected Minor League Manager of the Year for 1973 by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

''.

Pawtucket Red Sox

Morgan joined the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

organization the following season. He led the PawSox—located 24 miles (38 km) from his Walpole hometown—for nine years (1974–82), the longest-tenured manager in the franchise's history. Morgan won 601 games, losing 658 (.477) and was the Pawtucket skipper during its famous 33-inning game against

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

in , though he was ejected in the 22nd. He won the International League Manager of the Year Award in 1977.

Boston Red Sox

The parent Red Sox reassigned Morgan after the 1982 season, making him a scout for 1983–84 before he was finally invited to return to the Majors as Boston's first-base coach in . He worked as the team's bullpen coach during the Red Sox' pennant-winning season, then replaced

Rene Lachemann Rene George Lachemann (born May 4, 1945) is a retired American professional baseball coach, catcher and manager. He spent 33 years in Major League Baseball, including service as the manager of the Seattle Mariners (1981–83), Milwaukee Brewers (1 ...

as Boston's third-base coach in . In , a Boston team was at one game over .500 under manager John McNamara, leading the ownership to fire him during the All-Star break. They named Morgan acting manager July 14 and began negotiations with high-profile candidates, such as

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

and

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

, who were under contract to other organizations. The Red Sox won their first 12 games under Morgan – a period dubbed by the press as ''Morgan Magic'' – and the team named him as their permanent field boss. The 1988 Red Sox won the

AL East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

, but were swept by the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series; two years later, the 1990 Sox repeated history, winning their division but bowing in four straight to the A's in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. In , Morgan guided a Boston team to a second-place finish in the AL East. The team had difficulties in June and July before maneuvering their way back in early September; as late as the 21st, they were just a half game behind Toronto in the East. However, they lost 11 of their last 14 games and finished seven games behind Toronto. Although he had one year remaining on his contract, he was fired at season's end in favor of

Butch Hobson Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson Jr. (born August 17, 1951) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. He is the current manager for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Hobson played in ...

. Under Hobson, the 1992 Red Sox finished last in the AL East. Morgan's final big league managerial totals: 301–262 (.535) over years, all with the Red Sox. His record as a minor league manager over 16 seasons (1966–71; 1973–82) was 1,140 victories and 1,102 defeats (.508) with one league championship (with the York Pirates of the Double-A Eastern League in 1969).

Managerial record

Popularity

Morgan was called "Walpole Joe," as well as "Turnpike Joe" in tribute to the offseason job he held for many years to supplement his minor league pay: driving a

snowplow A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to re ...

on the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...

. The nicknames also served to prevent any confusion with Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

. His phrases became part of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

folklore, such as "I'm the skipper of this nine!", and "Roger spun another beauty", describing one of the outings by his star

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

. In 2006, he was named to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame and the Walpole High School Hockey Hall of Fame. Morgan was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2008. On July 30, 2013, the Red Sox honored him with "Joe Morgan Night" at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

, with Clemens among the former players participating in the festivities.Boston Red Sox official web site
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References

External links

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: {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Joe 1930 births Living people Atlanta Crackers players Baseball coaches from Massachusetts Baseball players from Massachusetts Boston College Eagles baseball players Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey players Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox managers Boston Red Sox scouts Charleston Marlins players Cleveland Indians players Evansville Braves players Hartford Chiefs players International League MVP award winners Jacksonville Braves players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Athletics players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Milwaukee Braves players Pawtucket Red Sox managers People from Walpole, Massachusetts Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Raleigh Pirates players Rapiños de Occidente players St. Louis Cardinals players San Juan Marlins players Wichita Braves players