Jim Morgan

James E. Morgan (June 13, 1934 – September 29, 2019) was an American basketball player and race horse trainer. He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals and won a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship in 1956. Morgan was selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1957 NBA draft but never played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a high school teacher and basketball coach in Ohio until he became a horse trainer in the mid-1960s. Morgan was one of Ohio's leading horse trainers over a 40-year career.

Early life Morgan was born on June 13, 1934, in Hyden, Kentucky, as one of seven children to parents William and Mae Morgan. Morgan opted to play for the Louisville Cardinals over offers from the Kentucky Wildcats and his hometown Dayton Flyers. He scored 1,105 points in four seasons played with the Cardinals. He was a social studies teacher and basketball coach at Stebbins High School in Riverside, Ohio, for nine seasons. the Stivers Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006, He had his No. 12 jersey honored by the Louisville Cardinals and it hangs in the rafters of Freedom Hall.

Personal life Morgan had two children. Two of his brothers were collegiate athletes at Morehead State University: Mickey on the basketball team and Tom on the football team.

Morgan survived a serious heart attack in 1993 and continued working despite being recommended to retire by a doctor.

Morgan died at the age of 85 from a suspected heart attack in Dayton on September 29, 2019. He was buried in his family's plot at Deerfield Cemetery in South Lebanon, Ohio.