Tom Stephen Morgan was a Major League Baseball pitcher. A native of El Monte, California, the 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 195 lb (88 kg) right-hander was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before the 1949 season.
He played for the Yankees (1951–52; 1954–56), Kansas City Athletics (1957), Detroit Tigers (1958–60), Washington Senators (1960) and Los Angeles Angels (1961–63).
After his playing career was over, Morgan worked as a pitching coach for the California Angels from 1972–74 and 1981–83, the San Diego Padres in 1975, and the Yankees in 1979.
He also worked as a minor league instructor for the Angels and a scout for the Yankees and Atlanta Braves. In 1980, when Tommy John was struggling, Morgan gave him advice regarding his throwing motion after seeing the pitcher on TV. John said the mechanical correction helped him out of a slump.
Morgan continued to help John when the pitcher joined the Angels in 1982, and he aided John again in 1984 even after being dismissed from the Angels. However, Morgan did not get along well with the younger pitchers on the staff, who considered the coach too abrasive.
Tom Morgan’s Cause of Death
Tom Morgan, 56, former major league pitcher and a longtime resident of Palos Verdes, Tom Morgan died on Thursday, January 15, 1987, at age 56 due to complications from a stroke he had suffered one week earlier.
Known as the Plowboy because of a shuffling and bent gait that made it appear as if he was pulling a plow, Morgan compiled a 65-47 record during 12 seasons with the New York Yankees, Kansas City A’s, Detroit Tigers and Angels, with whom he spent all of the 1961 and 1962 seasons and part of ’63, the first three seasons in the club’s history.
Most recently a minor league pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves, Morgan had previously served as a pitching coach with the Angels and San Diego Padres and was frequently credited by Nolan Ryan and Randy Jones for his significant contributions to their success.