Chester Collins Morgan (June 6, 1910 – September 20, 1991), nicknamed "Chick," was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and manager. He played

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, principally as a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

, for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

during the 1935 and 1938 seasons.

Early years

Morgan was born in Skene, Mississippi, in 1910.

Professional baseball

Morgan began playing professional baseball in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

with the

Beaumont Exporters The Beaumont Exporters was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team located in Beaumont, Texas that played between 1920 and 1957 in the Texas League and the Big State League. Beaumont rejoined the Class AA Texas League (1983-1986) and ...

from 1933 to 1934 and for the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

in 1934. In April 1935, Morgan made his

debut with the

. During the 1935 season, Morgan appeared in 14 games for the Tigers and compiled a .174

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and a .321

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

in 28 plate appearances. Morgan spent most of the 1935 season with the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

of the American Association. He played for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

in 1936 before returning to the Mud Hens in 1937 and 1938. In 1938, Morgan returned to Major League Baseball with the Tigers. He appeared in 74 games for the 1938 Tigers, including 69 games as the team's starting center fielder. He compiled a .284 batting average and .330 on-base percentage in 1938. He played in 88 games for the Tigers in his career and had a batting average of .277 with a .330 on-base percentage. Although he appeared in his last major league game in 1938, he continued to play in the minors until 1950. He played for the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

from 1939 to 1943, the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

from 1944 to 1946, and the Clarksdale Planters from 1948 to 1950. He also served as Clarksdale's manager from 1948 to 1950. In May 1953, he was hired as the manager of the Greenville Bucks of the

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Engli ...

Later years

Morgan died in 1991 at age 81 in

Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Harris County. It is part of the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the 23rd most populous city in Texas and the second mos ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Chester Collins 1910 births 1991 deaths Baseball players from Mississippi Beaumont Exporters players Boston Braves scouts Clarksdale Planters players Detroit Tigers players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball center fielders Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Sportspeople from Bolivar County, Mississippi San Antonio Missions players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players 20th-century American sportsmen