Morgan, Joe (Joe Leonard Morgan), 1943–2020, American baseball player, b. Bonham, Tex. An outstanding second baseman, he signed with the Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros) in 1962, becoming their regular second baseman in 1965. After the 1971 season, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, the Big Red Machine of the 1970s. Morgan helped them win the World Series in 1975 and 1976, and was named the National League's MVP both years. After the 1979 season, he once again joined Houston, then San Francisco (1981), Philadelphia (1983), and Oakland (1984), retiring at the end of the 1984 season. In his long career, he had a .271 batting average, 2,517 hits, 268 home runs, and 1,133 RBIs and also won five Gold Glove awards. Subsequently a television broadcaster, he announced for the San Francisco Giants (1986–93), then was a sports analyst on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball (1994–2010).
See his autobiography (with D. Falkner, 1993).
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