For decades, it seemed like Andre Morgan was everywhere in the Chicago prep sports world.
The Vocational graduate coached baseball and football at his alma mater, where he also was a special education teacher.
He was one of the area’s most in-demand baseball umpires, working countless high-profile matchups in the Catholic League and south suburbs.
Morgan served as public-address announcer for Public League football games at Gately Stadium.
And he had media stints as a freelance sports writer for the Sun-Times and a commentator on IHSA state wrestling telecasts.
But there was more to Morgan, who died on Oct. 22 at the age of 68, than what athletes, coaches and fans saw.
“I think what I learned from his experience is his caring, love and mentoring,” said Mario Morgan, one of Andre’s sons and the head wrestling coach at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. “Everyone that reaches out has a warm story where he was being selfless or helped their life trajectory change. [When] everyone else did not believe in them, he found a way to believe in them.”
Mario Morgan had a successful wrestling career as a state placer at Mount Carmel and an NCAA champion at Nebraska-Omaha. His father was a big fan of both Mario and his brother Sergio during their athletic careers, and it didn’t end there.
“Every one of my teammates felt the same level of love and care,” Mario Morgan said. “Every one of [Sergio’s] teammates acted as if Dad was their dad as well. He was a dad to our entire friend group.”
Morgan also was proud of his alma mater. He co-founded and served as vice president of the Chicago Vocational Alumni Association, and was the emcee when Sergio was inducted into its hall of fame.
“He would do anything for that school,” Mario Morgan said.
But Morgan’s influence stretched far beyond his Southeast Side roots.
Veteran St. Laurence baseball coach Pete Lotus got to know Morgan as one of the area’s busiest umpires.
“It seemed like we had him about every week,” Lotus said.
What stood out about Morgan? Two things, according to Lotus: his skill and his outgoing nature.
“He was so personable,” Lotus said. “He liked to have fun out there. Especially in the intensity of Catholic League games, Andre’s personality kept it enjoyable. … We’d have conversations; usually it started out with him cracking a joke about something.”
At the same time, Morgan took his job seriously.
“He had the ability to maintain control and composure,” Lotus said. “He had the ability to be pretty consistent. He had a good feel for everything.”
Morgan saw high-school athletics as a path to an education and a better life.
“One of my favorite quotes [of his that] I tell my college kids is, ‘Use this sport, don’t let it use you,'” Mario Morgan said.
Morgan not only preached that philosophy, he lived it — for decades and in more ways than almost anyone else on the local prep sports scene.
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