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Pilots caretaker Henry Morgan named 2008 Bud Metheny Award recipient by
Old Dominion University
Dec. 14, 2007 - Story as written on
odusports.com
 |
Morgan joins his friend, the
late Warren
Spivey, as one of two local
baseball
men with CPL ties to receive award. |
NORFOLK, VA--
Local
Peninsula businessman Henry Morgan, who has devoted much
of his life and resources to area youth baseball
activities, will be honored as the 31st recipient of the
Bud Metheny Award at the GTI Systems, Inc. "Meet the
Stars" banquet, Friday Jan. 25th at the Sheraton Norfolk
Waterside as part of the annual Greenwich Kitchens/ODU
Baseball Clinic weekend. The banquet begins with a
social at 6:30, followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m.
Baseball Hall of Famer and award winning sportscaster
Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds will be the keynote
speaker and clinician.
Tickets for the banquet are $60, and on sale at the Old
Dominion Athletic Ticket Office in the Athletic
Administration Building (683-5484). The Greenwich
Kitchens Baseball Clinic will be held Saturday, Jan. 26
with one session, beginning at 9 a.m. Tickets for the
clinic are $5.
"Henry Morgan strongly represents the true ideal of the
Bud Metheny Award," said former ODU standout and Hall of
Famer Wayne Gomes. "Mr. Morgan has spent numerous years
coaching baseball at the Little League level as well as
AAU. He is what baseball is and should be about in our
community."
Morgan has raised/donated nearly $100.000 on behalf of
Peninsula Pilots batboy Kevin Eadie and the Niemann-Pick
Type C cause known as the Ara Parseghian Medical
research Foundation/ Kevin Eadie Fund over the past
four-plus years. He has also implemented a program to
encourage reading throughout the Peninsula's school
systems.
Morgan has parlayed peninsula Pilots activities into
fundraisers and donations for many non-profit
organizations like the Red Cross, York High School band,
local youth cheerleading teams, the 9-11 firefighters
and more. His construction business has donated time and
materials to nearly every high school and Little League
field on the Peninsula.
He has sponsored two local high school players
participate in a barnstorming baseball tour of Cuba on a
Christian missionary trip. During his Little League
coaching days, Morgan brought Legion teams to
tournaments in Cocoa Beach, Fl., and Cooperstown, NY,
all of which he funded personally.
Morgan currently owns the Peninsula Pilots of the
Coastal Plain League which is designed to allow college
players to hone their skills for 58 additional games in
the summer, as well as continue their exposure to
professional scouts.
Morgan heads two small construction businesses in Isle
of Wight and Suffolk. He first became involved in youth
league coaching in 1979 as he handled a Hampton-Wythe
Little League team. He eventually became president for
two years, and then presided over a three-time A-League
that had grown to 10 teams by the time he resigned In
1989. He also coached in the Phoebus Senior League and
the Hampton Post 31 American Legion team in the 1990's.
By 2001, Morgan had been appointed to the Peninsula
Stadium Authority and quickly became its chairman. He
was instrumental in triggering the drive to construct
the proposed stadium in Newport News and also
contributed financially to that project. During that
period, Morgan became interested in the Coastal Plain
League and eventually resigned from the Authority to
obtain the college team. The league that operates for
three summer months and uses wooden bats. Under his
direction, many stadium improvements have been made
above and beyond what the Authority could afford.
In all, Henry Morgan still loves working with young
people. He and his wife Sue have two adult children,
Hank and Kara and four grandchildren.
PREVIOUS BUD METHENY WINNERS
1978 Dave Rosenfield
General Manager, Norfolk Tides, Co-Founder of ODU Clinic
1979 George Kotarides President, Milton's Pizza
1980 Ed Nagourney Rices Nachman Dept. Store,
Co-Founder of ODU Clinic
1981 Bud Metheny Former Old Dominion baseball
coach
1982 George McClelland Former Executive Sports
Editor, The Virginian Pilot/Ledger-Star newspapers
1983 Charlie Sugg Real Estate Assessor, City of
Norfolk
1984 Don Fett President, Waymar, Inc.
1985 Clyde McCullough Former major league scout
1986 Abe Goldblatt Sportswriter, The Virginian
Pilot/Ledger Star
1987 Richard J. Davis President, Tidewater
Professional Sports, Inc.
1988 Harry Postove Major League Scout
1989 Hank Foiles Foiles Insurance, former major
leaguer
1990 Lewis D.Hirschler Hofheimer's Inc,
1991 Richard Alexander Umpire
1992 Bob Rathbun Former sports anchor,WTKR TV
WTAR Radio
1993 Sandra Pickin Founder of the Peninsula
Muscular, Dystrophy Benefit Baseball Tournament
1994 John T. Callahan Former President of
Tidewater Baseball League
1995 Gary Wright Tidewater Summer League, AAU
1996 Paul Fraim Mayor of Norfolk
1997 Roy L.Burton, Jr. Founder of
Willard-Lakewood Athletic, Association & the Granby
Booster Club
1998 Paul Vestal President Greenbrier Athletic
Assoc.
1999 Ken Young President, Norfolk Tides Baseball
Team
2000 Lester Bangs Local Baseball Scout
2001 Warren Spivey President Spivey Rentals
2002 Bill Swan Former Head Baseball Coach at
Virginia Wesleyan, Former Asst. Coach at ODU.
2003 Tim Miller Chairman ACS Systems &
Engineering
2004 Luke Newman President of Greenwich Kitchens
Center
2005 Pat Baker Local Dentist
2006 Tony Zontini Coach/teacher
2007 Towny Townsend Coach/teacher |
