In Memory

Doug Morton

Doug Morton

 

MORTON, Douglas Orla Douglas Orla Morton Born December 8, 1949 in McPherson, Kansas and passed away April 19, 2020 in Richardson, Texas. Remembered by his wife Betty, his two sons Brandon and Bryan, and his black Labrador Belle. Doug was most known for the love he had for his family and his great sense of humor. He was passionate about all sports, and was a huge fan of the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, and Dallas Cowboys. He grew up in Wichita, Kansas and played baseball at Friends University and had a huge impact as a semi-professional pitcher in The Netherlands, where he also met Betty, the love of his life. They were married for 43 years, lived in various cities in the US, and finally settled down in Richardson, Texas. Doug worked in sales after his baseball career, and spent his free time gardening and doing home improvement projects. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the SPCA of Texas. Doug will be dearly missed by his loving family. 

 

 

 

 
 



 
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08/19/20 11:46 AM #1    

Craig Steward

Wow! Doug Morton, I always thought Doug would live to 100! I always hoped to share more time with Doug after graduation but life took us in different directions. My wife and I consider the Netherlands home away from home, at least we share this with Doug! Love You always Doug and to Your Loved Ones!


08/19/20 07:01 PM #2    

George Custer

I'm with you Craig.  I am stunned that Doug has passed away.  I found this link that gives some detail to his Dutch baseball exploits:

https://catcher.home.xs4all.nl/bb20-2804-former-pitcher-douglas-morton-passed-away-american-dominated-in-dutch-big-league.htm

RIP Doug.


08/24/20 11:17 AM #3    

John/Rocky Gawthrop

Its taken a awhile to get this together. I first became aware of Doug when we played baseball against each other when we were around six or seven years old. There was no tee ball or coach pitch back in those days. Doug pitched for his team and could really throw hard. He struck out most eveybody on our team and myself numerous times. Another player for Doug's team was Craig Staats who was big, and wore a shin guard over one of his legs and was a really good hitter. Their team was coached by Orla Morton, Doug's dad.

Doug and I started playing baseball together in junior high for my dad, Pike Gawthrop. Some of the other guys that payed on our team included Larry Mayfield, Clark Melton, Ron Sheperd, Jerry Bullins, Tom Gibson, Gary Petry, Mike Creed, John Harris, and Dennis Brewster just to name a few. Doug played primarily second base back in those days but as we got into American Legion baseball he started to pitch again. He was good, real good.

Doug and I became really close over those years spending the night together at our parent's house. We'd sneak out at night and just fool around until it was time to throw newspapers that morning. We built a raft in Doug's backyard and Orla took us over to the river to launch it. We got our picture n the paper as we floated down the Arkansas river. Good times.

In high school Fridays were reserved for boys night out. That could mean going to the varius hangouts back then, Howards, the Attic, etc.Saturdays were usually date night and we occaisionally double dated.

After high school Doug went to Friends and I started at WSU. Doug was again pitching for the Falcons. We still hung out during the week and weekends. We partied pretty hard during those days and after graduation we lived together in Riverside. We kept partying which was probably going to be the demise of both of us if weren't careful.

Doug made the smart decision to visit his sister, Pam in Amsterdam. He hooked up with a team in Harlem, Netherlands and became very successful in his baseball career. He played there for around 10 years and married Betty a fine Dutch girl. Doug and Betty would comeback to visit his folks and I would see him then. We drifted apart as we started to raise our families and pursue our careers.

Doug will always be one of my best friends. We had so many good times that I will never forget him. May he rest in peace.


 


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