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Joe Leonard Morgan
Houston Astros
Second Base
Born: September 19, 1943, Bonham, TX
Signed: Signed by the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent, November 1, 1962
Major League Teams: Houston Colt .45s 1963-1964; Houston Astros 1965-1971; Cincinnati Reds 1972-1979; Houston Astros 1980; San Francisco Giants 1981-1982; Philadelphia Phillies 1983; Oakland Athletics 1984
World Series Appearances: Cincinnati Reds 1972, 1975-1976; Philadelphia Phillies 1983
Died: October 11, 2020, Danville, CA (age 77)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1990
Joe Morgan put together a Hall of Fame career, playing 22 seasons and winning the National League MVP award in back-to-back years in 1975 and 1976. He was a ten-time All-Star, winning the All-Star Game MVP honors in 1972. He won five Gold Gloves and helped lead the Big Red Machine to two World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. He's currently ranked 11th all-time in stolen bases with 689, and second all-time at games played at second base with 2,527. Only fellow Hall of Famer Eddie Collins played more games at the position with 2,650. Morgan was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1990.
Died: October 11, 2020, Danville, CA (age 77)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1990
Joe Morgan put together a Hall of Fame career, playing 22 seasons and winning the National League MVP award in back-to-back years in 1975 and 1976. He was a ten-time All-Star, winning the All-Star Game MVP honors in 1972. He won five Gold Gloves and helped lead the Big Red Machine to two World Series titles in 1975 and 1976. He's currently ranked 11th all-time in stolen bases with 689, and second all-time at games played at second base with 2,527. Only fellow Hall of Famer Eddie Collins played more games at the position with 2,650. Morgan was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1990.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #276
September 23, 2023 from The Philly Show (Ed's Old Baseball Cards)
Given the massive haul of 193 cards acquired for our 1969 Topps set at the March Philly Show, I held off on adding more cards throughout the summer of 2023. We weren't even going to go to the Philly Show last September, but our oldest son's baseball tournament was rained out, and we found ourselves with a free weekend. I wrote about the show originally over at The Phillies Room.
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index -2
1969 Season
Morgan missed almost the entire 1968 season with a knee injury, and he returned as the Astros' opening day second baseman in 1969. Making 131 starts at the position, and appearing in 147 games overall, Morgan batted .236 with 15 home runs and 43 RBIs. His best seasons were ahead of him.
Phillies Career
On December 14, 1982, the Giants traded the 39-year-old Morgan with Al Holland to the Phillies for Mark Davis, Mike Krukow and minor leaguer C.L. Penigar. Morgan had enjoyed an impressive 1982 season, winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year award and a Silver Slugger at second base. As the regular second baseman for the Phillies, He appeared in 123 games, hitting .230 with 16 home runs, 59 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
He played in his final postseason games with the Phillies, appearing in all five World Series games and hitting .263 with two home runs. He homered off the Orioles' Scott McGregor in the sixth inning of Game 1, tying up the game. The Phillies released Morgan after the World Series and he signed with the A's, where he'd close out his career the following season.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #16
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22): 1965-1985, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2024 Topps Heritage #194
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 1,606 in the Beckett online database as of 4/14/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
September 23, 2023 from The Philly Show (Ed's Old Baseball Cards)
Given the massive haul of 193 cards acquired for our 1969 Topps set at the March Philly Show, I held off on adding more cards throughout the summer of 2023. We weren't even going to go to the Philly Show last September, but our oldest son's baseball tournament was rained out, and we found ourselves with a free weekend. I wrote about the show originally over at The Phillies Room.
I added just 15 cards to our set build at this show, all from the same dealer, Ed's Old Baseball Cards out of the Buffalo area. Technically, the cards I bought were from Ed's associate, Gary, who explained he was along for the ride and brought a bunch of his vintage cards for sale. I picked four needed star cards first, and Gary gave us a nice discount on the purchase, so we went back after securing a few autographs. I picked 11 more commons and semi-stars from his modest selection of 1960s Topps cards for sale, including this Morgan card. Posting for these 15 cards should take me a lot less longer than what it took to get through the box of cards brought home from the March 2023 Philly Show.
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index -2
Morgan is wearing an Astros uniform, and the same hatless photo is used for his 1968 Topps card. The back of the card highlights his Rookie of the Year win in 1965, his All-Star Game start in 1966 and his lost 1968 season.
Accuracy Index: Morgan's card receives a somewhat rare -2. He's in an Astros uniform (+5), but hatless (-3) and we've seen the photo before (-4).
1969 Season
Morgan missed almost the entire 1968 season with a knee injury, and he returned as the Astros' opening day second baseman in 1969. Making 131 starts at the position, and appearing in 147 games overall, Morgan batted .236 with 15 home runs and 43 RBIs. His best seasons were ahead of him.
On December 14, 1982, the Giants traded the 39-year-old Morgan with Al Holland to the Phillies for Mark Davis, Mike Krukow and minor leaguer C.L. Penigar. Morgan had enjoyed an impressive 1982 season, winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year award and a Silver Slugger at second base. As the regular second baseman for the Phillies, He appeared in 123 games, hitting .230 with 16 home runs, 59 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
He played in his final postseason games with the Phillies, appearing in all five World Series games and hitting .263 with two home runs. He homered off the Orioles' Scott McGregor in the sixth inning of Game 1, tying up the game. The Phillies released Morgan after the World Series and he signed with the A's, where he'd close out his career the following season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #16
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22): 1965-1985, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2024 Topps Heritage #194
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 1,606 in the Beckett online database as of 4/14/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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