| James Morgan | |
| Birth Name: | James Patrick Morgan |
| Birth Date: | 16 December 1948 |
| Death Place: | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
| Death Cause: | Bobsled accident |
| Resting Place: | St. Bernard's Cemetery Saranac Lake, New York |
| Other Names: | Jimmy, Nitro |
| Occupation: | Automobile salesman |
| Known For: | Bobsled driver, 1976 Winter Olympics |
James Patrick Morgan, known as Jimmy, but nicknamed "Nitro" (December 16, 1948 - February 8, 1981) was an American bobsled driver who competed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. He was killed in 1981 during the third of four runs of the four-man event at the World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, held at the track used for the 1956 Winter Olympics.[1] [2] [3]
Morgan's death at age 32, coupled with the fatality of a stuntman involved in the production of the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only the following week, led to the shortening of the Cortina track to its current configuration.
A native of Saranac Lake, New York, Morgan competed in the 1976 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria, finishing fourteenth in the two-man event and fifteenth in the four-man event at Igls.
Morgan's brother John (b.1950) was also a bobsledder who has served as a television color commentator for the sport since 1981. He was calling the competition for ABC with Bill Flemming when James' accident occurred.[2]
