Remembering Whitey Ford and Joe Morgan


A grim six weeks that began with the August 31st death of Tom Seaver, followed by those of fellow Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Bob Gibson has seen the death of two more Hall of Famers in the last few days.

Whitey Ford, the greatest starting pitcher in Yankee history, passed away Thursday night while watching his team win their playoff game with the Rays. While it's sad when anyone, let alone an iconic member of the most successful sports franchise of all time, leaves this earth, there's a gentle sentimentality in the moment. After all, his 10 victories in World Series play remains a baseball record. Remember, when Whitey played -- and excelled -- that was the only "post-season" in baseball. Ford's teams made the World Series in 11 of his 16 seasons. He played his career out on the biggest stage in more two-thirds of his career.

Good as his numbers were, they could have been even bigger, but for the two years Ford served his country during the Korean War (1951-'52).

Matching his on-field talent, was his affable personality. An instantly likeable man, Whitey always had a smile for fans and treated the media warmly and fairly.

A New Yorker through and through, Whitey and Lou Gehrig remain the Yankees two greatest homegrown stars. Born and raised in the city, they called the Bronx home for their entire big league careers. Their retired numbers will continue to represent huge chapters of Yankee tradition.

Then, Monday morning, he heard that Joe Morgan died on Sunday, news that came as more of a shock. Combining good speed (689
career steals) with surprising power for someone who was just 5'7 (268 homers), Morgan was also known for his strong on-field leadership on some very talented teams. The 10-time all star and two time World Series champ later spent 25 years as a network broadcaster for NBC, ABC and ESPN.

It's worth noting that neither Whitey or Joe were anywhere near six feet tall. Would either of them have even be scouted aggressively by an organization if they were graduating high school in 2020??

Both prove that the size of someone's talent isn't directly connected to how tall one stands. 

I consider myself fortunate to have seen both Whitey and Joe play and capture them with a camera later in their lives.














 

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