Guy Morton (mortogu02)

Guy Morton Jr.
(Moose)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
• School University of Alabama
• High School Murphy High School
• Debut September 17, 1954
• Final Game September 17, 1954
• Born November 4, 1930 in Tuscaloosa, AL USA
• Died May 11, 2014 in Lorain, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Guy Morton, Jr. was the son of Guy Morton, Sr., a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians from 1914 to 1924. At age 18, he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox before the 1949 season. Morton was assigned to their class D Marion Red Sox farm club, where he appeared in only 46 games as a catcher and hit .264 in 125 at-bats for the Ohio-Indiana League team. The Red Sox moved Morton to the Kinston Eagles of the Coastal Plain League in 1950 and the second-year man caught 120 games for his team, hitting at a .270 clip with six home runs. As happened to a lot of young men at this time, the United States Military gave Morton a call and he would serve the next two years (1951 and 1952) in the Armed Services during the Korean War.

Morton was back in baseball in 1953, performing with two teams for the season, the Roanoke Ro-Sox of the Piedmont League and the Albany Senators of the Eastern League, hitting a combined .285 with nine homers for the two clubs. In 1954, "Moose", as he was sometimes called, hit his stride and had his break-out season with the Greensboro Patriots, leading the class B Carolina League in hitting with a .348 average and 120 RBIs and also placing second with 32 home runs while catching 130 games. He also was chosen for the All-Star team and was given the league's MVP award.

This strong showing would give "Moose" an opportunity to show his stuff at Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox gave him a quick look on September 17, 1954. Guy, appearing as a pinch hitter, struck out against Dean Stone of the Washington Senators in his only major league at-bat. Morton was soon traded to the Senators and spent the rest of his pro baseball career in the minors with the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern Association. He wound up his run in 1959 with a nine-year lifetime minor league average of .282 with 79 home runs in 930 games.

A graduate of the University of Alabama, "Moose" was named to the All-Time Carolina League team as the catcher, ahead of Johnny Bench, some forty years after being named the league's Most Valuable Player. Morton was a high school teacher and coach in Alabama in the 1960s. He then entered the ministry and became the pastor of the Lakeview Baptist Church in Vermilion, Ohio, on Lake Erie.

Notable Achievements

• 1954 MVP, Carolina League, Greensboro Patriots

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Further Reading

• Richard Tellis: Once Around The Bases, Triumph Books, Chicago, IL, 1998, pp. 166-176.

Related Sites

• Moose Morton at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors Page