Former big league pitcher Morehead dies at 71

Funeral set Thursday for Byrd High alumnus.

The Shreveport Times,January 18, 2006

From Staff Reports

Seth Morehead, a former major league pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Braves, died Tuesday morning after an apparent heart attack.

Morehead, 71, signed professionally with the Philadelphia Phillies out of Shreveport's Byrd High School in the mid-1950s. He made his major league debut on April 2, 1957, with the Phillies. He spent five seasons in the big leagues pitching in parts of three seasons with the Phillies, two seasons with the Chicago Cubs and one season with the Milwaukee Braves.

"He just had a knack for it," said Buck Fulco, a former American Legion teammate of Morehead's. "He could walk out on the mound and do things that other people couldn't do. He was very good. He was a cut above as far as being a pitcher.

"It's a sad loss for us who knew Seth. As far as being a pitcher goes, he was pretty unique in being as good as he was."

Among his career highlights was being the last pitcher to face Roy Campanella. He was also the last pitcher to face the Brooklyn Dodgers before the team moved to Los Angeles.

Morehead was a 6-foot, 195-pound left-hander during his playing career. He pitched in 132 major league games and was 5-19 with a 4.81 career ERA.

As a youth, Morehead was one of the top pitching talents in Louisiana.

"When we played American Legion ball, he was on the Byrd-based team called the 7-Up Bottlers and he was their ace," said Ron Rice of Shreveport. "I remember one game in particular, he threw a no-hitter against us. We had some near-misses getting hits off of him.

"He was the one we hated to face, not because he could throw so hard and scare you with a fastball, it was he had excellent control and a good curveball that would put you down."

After spending 13 seasons in professional baseball, Morehead graduated from Baylor University with a degree in business. He worked in banking for 36 years before retiring in 1999. He was employed with Life of Louisiana Insurance Company.

Visitation is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. today at Rose-Neath Marshall Street Funeral Home. Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the chapel at Rose-Neath Marshall Street Funeral Home.