Are LSU's Tre' Morgan and ex-Astros player Joe Morgan related?
As Tre' Morgan and the LSU Tigers prepare to take on the Florida Gators in a do-or-die College World Series Finals matchup, a lot of rumors have sprung about Morgan's link to a late legend.
Despite standing a little shy of 5-feet-8, Joe Morgan was a beast on the baseball pitch. He reigned the fields, executed awe-inspiring steals, and made pitchers cry — it’s no surprise the second baseman was coyly dubbed the “little big man.”
The 10x All-Star was hands down the most all-around baseball player. He mustered 268 home runs and stole 689 bases in his 22-season MLB stint. Joe Morgan's career highlight was bagging back-to-back MVPs and World Series trophies for the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976.
At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, LSU's first baseman Tre' Morgan wears a frame that's almost a stark contrast to Joe's. But the New Orleans native youngster is quickly following in Little Big Man's footsteps.
In his first asking at LSU, Morgan ramped up his accolade collection with Freshman All-SEC, Second-team Freshman All-SEC and First-Team Freshman All-America. In 2022, he helped the national collegiate team clinch the bronze medal at the Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands.
As if that wasn't impressive enough, Tre' Morgan was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team two years running, in 2021 and 2022. The LSU junior lived up to his name at the 2023 College World Series, helping the Tigers get a leg up over the No. 2 Florida Gators. That's not something to scoff at.
Fact Check: Are Joe Morgan and Tre' Morgan father and son?
With Tre' Morgan hitting the news off the back of the ongoing CWS action, rumors have mushroomed, claiming that the LSU first and the former Houston Astros second baseman are biologically related.
Some "credible" online sources even speculate that the duo might be a son and father. And with the two baseball greats sharing their surname, it's easy to see why.
You’d be forgiven for thinking the rumors are true, but you would be dead wrong. Tre' Morgan and Joe Morgan are not biologically related. That’s at least according to information available to the public.
Joe Morgan had two kids with Gloria Stewart, his high school sweetheart whom he married in 1967 and divorced in the early 1980s. The Little Big Man remarried in 1990 to Theresa Behymer, bearing twins together. None of the four children was Tre'.
Their height difference might also help burst these rumors. With Tre's mom standing taller than him, it's doubtful he is related to the 5-foot-7 Joe.
So, who is Tre' Morgan’s actual father?
Tre was born John Edward III Morgan to John Edward II Morgan and Shalita Morgan, both New Orleans natives. John was instrumental in sparking Tre's interest in baseball. He taught and trained him from the tender age of four.
Morgan Sr. is a Mercedes-Benz salesman and a former college football player, while Shalita is a probation officer in the Louisiana correctional system. They’re both his biggest cheerleaders, off and on the pitch.