Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, a 10-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion with the Big Red Machine, died Sunday at 77 at his home in Danville, California, according to a statement from his family.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Theresa, their twin daughters Kelly and Ashley, and his daughters Lisa and Angela from his first marriage to Gloria Morgan. Morgan died from a nerve condition, a non-specified polyneuropathy.
Morgan played eight seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (1972-79), and he was selected to the All-Star team each year. He was named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1975 and ’76, and he earned five Gold Gloves for his exceptional defense at second base.
He is the first of the "Great Eight" from the Big Red Machine to die.
“Joe wasn’t just the best second baseman in baseball history, he was the best player I ever saw and one of the best people I’ve ever known,” said Johnny Bench in a statement. “He was a dedicated father and husband and a day won’t go by that I won’t think about his wisdom and friendship. He left the world a better, fairer, and more equal place than he found it, and inspired millions along the way.”
Nicknamed “Little Joe” because he was 5-foot-7, 160 pounds during his playing career, Joe Leonard Morgan was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990 on his first year on the ballot.
Considered the best second baseman of all-time, Morgan held records for home runs (268) and games played (2,649) for second basemen in his 22-year career. He was known for flapping his left arm before his swings. He recorded 2,517 hits and 689 stolen bases.
Morgan drove in the game-winning run in Game 7 of the 1975 World Series against Boston, scoring Ken Griffey Sr. on a single to center in the top of the ninth inning, to clinch Cincinnati's first World Series title in 35 years.
The Big Red Machine may have been the best team in baseball history and Morgan, who wore No. 8, ignited the lineup after he was traded to the Reds on Nov. 29, 1971. He led the National League in on-base percentage in four of his eight seasons with the Reds, drawing at least 110 walks in each season from 1972-77, and he even led the league in slugging percentage in 1976.
For another generation of baseball fans, Morgan was known for his long career as a broadcaster. He was a Reds TV broadcaster in 1985, teaming with Ken Wilson, before he became a San Francisco Giants broadcaster for the next nine years. He was the color commentator alongside Jon Miller for 20 years on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.
Morgan had served as a special advisor for the Reds since 2010, but he dealt with health issues in recent years. He had complications from a knee replacement, which forced him to use a cane, and he had a bone marrow transplant for an illness.
"The Reds family is heartbroken," Reds owner Bob Castellini said in a statement. "Joe was a giant in the game and was adored by the fans in this city. He had a lifelong loyalty and dedication to this organization that extended to our current team and front office staff. As a cornerstone on one of the greatest teams in baseball history, his contributions to this franchise will live forever. Our hearts ache for his Big Red Machine teammates."
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