James E. Morgan (June 13, 1934 – September 29, 2019) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and race horse trainer. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

and won a

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT) championship in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. Morgan was selected by the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA ...

in the 1957 NBA draft but never played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He was a high school teacher and basketball coach in Ohio until he became a horse trainer in the mid-1960s. Morgan was one of Ohio's leading horse trainers over a 40-year career.

Early life

Morgan was born on June 13, 1934, in Hyden, Kentucky, as one of seven children to parents William and Mae Morgan. He spent his early life living with his family in a two-room log cabin that had no electricity or running water until it was burnt down when sparks jumped from a wood fire. During the early 1940s, Morgan and his family moved to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, where his father worked at a

Delco Electronics Delco Electronics Corporation was the automotive electronics design and manufacturing subsidiary of General Motors based in Kokomo, Indiana, that manufactured ''Delco'' Automobile radios and other electric products found in GM cars. In 1972, Gen ...

factory.

Basketball career

Morgan attended Stivers High School in Dayton and led the team to a No. 1 state ranking in the early 1950s. Morgan opted to play for the Louisville Cardinals over offers from the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

and his hometown

Dayton Flyers The Dayton Flyers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Dayton of Dayton, Ohio. All Flyers intercollegiate sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I level. The football team ...

. He scored 1,105 points in four seasons played with the Cardinals. The Cardinals won the

1956 National Invitation Tournament The 1956 National Invitation Tournament was the 1956 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament.

when they defeated the Dayton Flyers. Morgan was selected by the

as the 15th overall pick in the 1957 NBA draft but opted to not sign with the team after they offered him a $5,000 contract. He was a social studies teacher and basketball coach at Stebbins High School in

Riverside, Ohio Riverside is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 24,474 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. A suburb of Dayton, it is part of the Dayton metropolitan area. Geography According to the United States C ...

, for nine seasons.

Race horse training career

Morgan resigned from Stebbins in 1966 so he could pursue a longtime dream and became a race horse trainer which he had first become interested in when he worked as an usher at the

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

racetrack in 1953. Morgan was one of the most successful Thoroughbred trainers in the Midwest and won over 300 stakes races to make him the winningest stakes trainer in Ohio. His horses amassed 1,993 total wins and made earnings of $20.7 million from 1967 to 2008. Morgan served as president of the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, and a trustee in the Thoroughbred's Horsemen's Health Fund from 1998 until his death.

Honors

Morgan was inducted into the Louisville Cardinals Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981, the Stivers Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. He had his No. 12 jersey honored by the Louisville Cardinals and it hangs in the rafters of Freedom Hall.

Personal life

Morgan had two children. Two of his brothers were collegiate athletes at

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-yea ...

: Mickey on the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and Tom on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. Morgan survived a serious heart attack in 1993 and continued working despite being recommended to retire by a doctor. Morgan died at the age of 85 from a suspected heart attack in Dayton on September 29, 2019. He was buried in his family's plot at Deerfield Cemetery in South Lebanon, Ohio.

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Jim 1934 births 2019 deaths American racehorse trainers American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Ohio Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players People from Hyden, Kentucky Syracuse Nationals draft picks 20th-century American sportsmen