Dec. 14, 2007
NORFOLK, VA-- Local Peninsula businessman Henry Morgan, who has devoted much of his life and resources to area youth baseball activities, will be honoredas 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 annualGreenwich 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 AthleticTicket Office in the Athletic Administration Building (683-5484). The Greenwich Kitchens Baseball Clinic will be held Saturday, Jan. 26 with one session, beginning at9 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 yearscoaching baseball at the Little League level as well as AAU. He is whatbaseball 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 researchFoundation/ 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 youthcheerleading teams, the 9-11 firefighters and more. His construction business hasdonated time and materials to nearly every high school and Little League field on thePeninsula.
He has sponsored two local high school players participate in abarnstorming baseball tour of Cuba on a Christian missionary trip. During his LittleLeague 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 whichis designed to allow college players to hone their skills for 58 additional games in thesummer, as well as continue their exposure to professional scouts.
Morgan heads two small construction businesses in Isle of Wight and Suffolk. Hefirst 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 thenpresided over a three-time A-League that had grown to 10 teams by the time he resignedIn 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 andquickly became its chairman. He was instrumental in triggering the drive to constructthe proposed stadium in Newport News and also contributed financially to that project.During that period, Morgan became interested in the Coastal Plain League and eventuallyresigned from the Authority to obtain the college team. The league that operates forthree 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 Suehave two adult children, Hank and Kara and four grandchildren.
PREVIOUS BUD METHENY WINNERS1978 Dave RosenfieldGeneral Manager, Norfolk TidesCo-Founder of ODU Clinic1979 George KotaridesPresident, Milton=s Pizza1980 Ed NagourneyRices Nachman Dept. StoreCo-Founder of ODU Clinic1981 Bud MethenyFormer Old Dominion baseball coach1982 George McClellandFormer Executive Sports EditorThe Virginian Pilot/Ledger-Star newspapers1983 Charlie SuggReal Estate Assessor, City of Norfolk1984 Don FettPresident, Waymar, Inc.1985 Clyde McCulloughFormer major league scout1986 Abe GoldblattSportswriter, The Virginian Pilot/Ledger Star1987 Richard J. DavisPresident, Tidewater Professional Sports, Inc.1988 Harry PostoveMajor League Scout1989 Hank FoilesFoiles Insurance, former major leaguer1990 Lewis D.HirschlerHofheimer's Inc,1991 Richard AlexanderUmpire1992 Bob RathbunFormer sports anchor,WTKR TV WTAR Radio1993 Sandra PickinFounder of the Peninsula MuscularDystrophy Benefit Baseball Tournament1994 John T. Callahan Former President of Tidewater Baseball League1995 Gary WrightTidewater Summer League, AAU1996 Paul FraimMayor of Norfolk1997 Roy L.Burton, Jr.Founder of Willard-Lakewood AthleticAssociation & the Granby Booster Club1998 Paul VestalPresident Greenbrier Athletic Assoc.1999 Ken YoungPresident, Norfolk Tides Baseball Team2000 Lester BangsLocal Baseball Scout2001 Warren SpiveyPresident Spivey Rentals2002 Bill SwanFormer Head Baseball Coach at Virginia Wesleyan Former Assistant Baseball Coach at ODU.2003Tim MillerChairman ACS Systems & Engineering2004Luke NewmanPresident of Greenwich Kitchens Center2005Pat BakerLocal Dentist2006Tony ZontiniCoach/teacher2007Towny TownsendCoach/teacher