Today in Wheeling History: June 28--Cy Morgan, former Major League Baseball pitcher and two-time World Series champion with the Philadelphia Athletics, died at age 83 after residing in Wheeling for the final 15 years of his life (1962).
Harry Richard "Cy" Morgan was born November 10, 1878, in Pomeroy, Ohio, to William G. Morgan, a Welsh-born carpenter, and Alwilda Brookes Morgan. Though not born in Wheeling, Morgan became deeply connected to the Upper Ohio Valley region, beginning his baseball career with local teams including Martin's Ferry, Ohio, and the Wheeling Laundry Club in 1900. His professional career spanned from 1903 to 1913, during which he pitched for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds.
Morgan's greatest achievements came with Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, helping the team win World Series championships in 1910 and 1911. His best season was 1910, when he compiled a 20-6 record with a remarkable 1.55 ERA, leading the American League in both walks (117) and hit batsmen (18). Throughout his ten-year major league career, he maintained a 78-78 record with an impressive 2.51 ERA, ranking 42nd on MLB's all-time ERA list.
After retiring as a player, Morgan embarked on a 23-year umpiring career in various minor leagues until 1938. Following baseball, he worked at the Patuxent River Naval Air Base in Maryland and as a guard on New York docks during World War II. Morgan spent his final fifteen years as a Wheeling resident, living modestly on Social Security until receiving a $100 monthly pension from the Association of Professional Baseball Players of America in 1959. He died June 28, 1962, in Wheeling at age 83 and was buried in Riverview Cemetery in nearby Martins Ferry, Ohio.
To learn more: Baseball-Reference profile (https://tinyurl.com/5f3npyua), Wikipedia entry on Cy Morgan (https://tinyurl.com/bdzjkuke), Society for American Baseball Research biography (https://tinyurl.com/39srur7d), The Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/yc7e5tf8), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/v2y3xtjd)
Photo credits: Library of Congress, Wheeling Intelligencer, Find a Grave, Wikimedia Commons, Baseball Reference, Society for Baseball Research
Harry Richard "Cy" Morgan was born November 10, 1878, in Pomeroy, Ohio, to William G. Morgan, a Welsh-born carpenter, and Alwilda Brookes Morgan. Though not born in Wheeling, Morgan became deeply connected to the Upper Ohio Valley region, beginning his baseball career with local teams including Martin's Ferry, Ohio, and the Wheeling Laundry Club in 1900. His professional career spanned from 1903 to 1913, during which he pitched for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds.
Morgan's greatest achievements came with Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, helping the team win World Series championships in 1910 and 1911. His best season was 1910, when he compiled a 20-6 record with a remarkable 1.55 ERA, leading the American League in both walks (117) and hit batsmen (18). Throughout his ten-year major league career, he maintained a 78-78 record with an impressive 2.51 ERA, ranking 42nd on MLB's all-time ERA list.
After retiring as a player, Morgan embarked on a 23-year umpiring career in various minor leagues until 1938. Following baseball, he worked at the Patuxent River Naval Air Base in Maryland and as a guard on New York docks during World War II. Morgan spent his final fifteen years as a Wheeling resident, living modestly on Social Security until receiving a $100 monthly pension from the Association of Professional Baseball Players of America in 1959. He died June 28, 1962, in Wheeling at age 83 and was buried in Riverview Cemetery in nearby Martins Ferry, Ohio.
To learn more: Baseball-Reference profile (https://tinyurl.com/5f3npyua), Wikipedia entry on Cy Morgan (https://tinyurl.com/bdzjkuke), Society for American Baseball Research biography (https://tinyurl.com/39srur7d), The Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/yc7e5tf8), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/v2y3xtjd)
Photo credits: Library of Congress, Wheeling Intelligencer, Find a Grave, Wikimedia Commons, Baseball Reference, Society for Baseball Research
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