Dan Morgan

Daniel Charles Morgan

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 175 lb.
• School University of Minnesota
• High School Superior Senior High School

• Born February 9, 1956 in Superior, WI, USA
• Died May 31, 1996 in Coon Rapids, MN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Dan Morgan was one of the all-time best players for the University of Minnesota, which he attended from 1974 to 1977 after leading Superior High School to the Wisconsin state basketball and baseball tournament as a senior in 1974. In 1973, he had gone 12-1 with a minuscule 0.09 ERA for his high school team, with 151 strikeouts in 73 innings. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 14th round of the 1974 amateur draft but chose to go to college instead of signing.

With the University of Minnesota, whose coach was former major leaguer Dick Siebert, Morgan was a two-time All-Big Ten Conference selection and a first-team All-American in 1977. He led the school to the 1977 College World Series, the last time the Gophers have participated in the tournament. He recorded Minnesota's lone win, over Baylor University, 4-3 in 11 innings. He is second in school history in ERA (1.97), 6th in wins (21) and 9th in strikeouts (198). He was named posthumously to the school's Hall of Fame for athletic achievement in 2012. His submarine-style of pitching was tough on all batters, not just righthanders.

He was drafted again, this time by the Montreal Expos, in the 15th round of the 1977 amateur draft and signed on this time. He began his pro career that year with the Jamestown Expos of the New York-Penn League, for whom he went 8-3, 2.96 in 13 games. He was promoted all the way to the Quebec Metros of the AA Eastern League at the end of the year and went 1-2, 5.40 in 3 starts. On a fast track to the majors, he was snet to the Puerto Rican League after the season, but developed a rotator cuff injury somewhere along the way. As a result, in 1978, he started the year with the West Palm Beach Expos of the Florida State League, but after going 1-2, 10.06 in 10 games, he was sent down to Jamestown where he went 0-4, 8.70 in 9 games. Over two years, his combined mark was 10-11, 5.30 in 35 games, including 21 starts.

He was let go after the 1978 season and returned to the University of Minnesota to complete his degree in physical therapy (he had been drafted after his junior year). He later started an orthopedics clinic in Coon Rapids, MN specialized in sports medicine. He then earned certification as an athletic trainer from the McKenzie Institute in New Zealand in 1993. This was part of a fondness for world travel that took him all over the globe. He was also an avid cyclist, taking part in a number of long distance races. However, he was diagnosed with a heart condition in 1996, underwent open-heart surgery, but died at home of a heart attack a couple of months later. He had just turned 40.

Related Sites

• Dan Morgan at the SABR Bio Project