Science teacher and former MLB pitcher Jim Morris

There are many examples of professional athletes who also enjoyed highly successful carers in the classroom. One of these athletes is Jim Morris, a high school teacher and coach who was also a pitcher for Major League Baseball.

Jim was born January 19, 1964, in Brownwood, Texas. Because his father was in the Navy, the family moved quite often during Jim’s childhood. He spent some of his childhood in New Haven, Connecticut; Great Lakes, Illinois; and Jacksonville, Florida. When his parents finally settled in Texas, Jim attended Brownwood High School. He graduated in 1982.

All during high school Jim nurtured a dream of pitching professional baseball. His dream was nearly realized when, in the 1982 amateur baseball draft, Jim signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. However, due to several arm injuries sustained while he played in the minor leagues, Jim was released during the 1987 season. In 1989, the young ball player signed with the Chicago White Sox, but once again was released before he could make it to the Show.

Once Jim retired from baseball, he decided to go back to school. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Science, Kinesology, and Psychology from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, in 1996. Then he became a high school physical science, chemistry, and physucs teacher and baseball coach at Reagan County High School in Big Lake, Texas.

In the Spring of 1999, eleven years after retiring from minor league baseball, Jim  was giving a pep talk to his high school team about the importance of dreams and hard work. His high school players challenged him to pursue his own dream of pitching in the major leagues, so Jim promised the students that if they won the District Championship, he would tryout for a spot in Major League Baseball one more time. When his students won the title, Jim kept his promise by attending tryouts for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The team scout wasn’t really interested in signing the high school coach, but allowed him to tryout so that he could keep his promise. To everyone’s surprise, Jim played exceptionally well, and so, even though he was 35 years old, he signed a contract with the team. He made his MLB debut in September, 1999, and 16 more major league appearances before his arm injuries resurfaced. He was released in 2000, and then played briefly for the Dodgers. Jim retired from baseball in 2001.

In 2001 Jim published his autobiography, The Oldest Rookie. The book was adapted into a film called The Rookie, released in 2002 and starring Dennis Quaid. Today Jim appears as a motivational speaker.