The card, in brief: A nice photo of the Reds' superstar with lots going on in the background. The only flaw is the composition that has the flag sticking out of Morgan's helmet.
The player, in brief: Joe Morgan is considered one of the best second baseman of all time. Morgan originally came up with Houston as a 19-year-old in 1963 and had several solid years there. He really blossomed after being traded to Cincinnati in 1971, with eight straight seasons as an All-Star, five straight Gold Gloves, and was MVP both seasons that the Reds won the World Series (1975 and 1976). 1976 was his best season, hitting .320 with 27 HR and 111 RBI, leading the NL in both OBP and SLG. In 1980 he returned to Houston as a free agent and helped them win their first NL West title, and at the age of 39 in 1983 he helped the Phillies win the NL pennant. In 2,649 games Morgan hit .271 with 268 HR and 1,133 RBI and 1,650 runs scored, walking 1,865 times compared to 1,015 strikeouts. In 50 postseason games he hit just .182 but did hit five home runs, scored 26 runs and had a 2:1 BB/K ratio (38/19).
Post career, in brief: After his career he was a longtime announcer for ESPN. He died of leukemia in 2020.
My collection: I have 55 of his cards, from 1965 to 1985. I would be interested in trading for 1975 Hostess #5.
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ReplyDeleteI've been anti-ESPN for pretty much all of my adult life, but I always thought that he was one of the few bright spots on that channel.
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