| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 13, 1934 Hyden, Kentucky |
| Died | September 29, 2019 (aged 85) Dayton, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Stivers (Dayton, Ohio) |
| College | Louisville (1953–1957) |
| NBA draft | 1957: 2nd round, 15th overall pick |
| Selected by the Syracuse Nationals | |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career | 1957–1966 |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 1957–1966 | Stebbins HS |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
James E. Morgan (June 13, 1934 – September 29, 2019) was an American basketball player and race horse trainer.[1] He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals and won a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship in 1956.[2] Morgan was selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1957 NBA draft but never played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a high school teacher and basketball coach in Ohio before he became a horse trainer in the mid-1960s. Morgan was one of Ohio's leading horse trainers over a 40-year career.
Basketball career
Born in Hyden, Kentucky, he attended Stivers High School in Dayton, Ohio, and led the team to a No. 1 state ranking in the early 1950s.[1][3] Morgan opted to play for the Louisville Cardinals over offers from the Kentucky Wildcats and his hometown Dayton Flyers.[3][4] He scored 1,105 points in four seasons played with the Cardinals.[3] Morgan was selected by the Syracuse Nationals 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.[5] He was a social studies teacher and basketball coach at Stebbins High School in Riverside, Ohio, for nine seasons.[1][4]
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 racetrack in 1953.[1][3][4][5] 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.[2][5] His horses amassed 1,993 total wins and made earnings of $20.7 million from 1967 to 2008.[2] 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.[2] Morgan died of a heart attack in Dayton, Ohio.[2]
Honors
Morgan was inducted into the Louisville Cardinals Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981,[6] the Stivers Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006,[4] and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.[7] He had his No. 12 jersey honored by the Louisville Cardinals and it hangs in the rafters of Freedom Hall.[3][4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "James E. Morgan". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Longtime Trainer James E. "Jim" Morgan Dies at 85". BloodHorse. October 24, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Engelhardt, John (October 2, 2019). "Legendary Ohio Horseman, Basketball Star Jim Morgan, 85, Dies". Paulick Report. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "James E. "Jim" Morgan 1934 – 2019". Stivers Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- 1 2 3 Archdeacon, Tom (October 6, 2019). "Archdeacon: Remembering 'a larger than life character'". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ↑ "Jim Morgan". Louisville Cardinals. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ↑ "James Morgan". Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 20, 2020.