Former Major League pitcher to keynote Pool & Spa Expo

Staff -- Casual Living, 7/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Motivational speaker and former Major League pitcher, Jim "The Rookie" Morris, will provide the keynote address during the 2005 International Pool & Spa Expo/Backyard Living Expo, Nov. 1–3 in Orlando.

His keynote address, "Never Give Up on a Dream!" will take place Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 9:45 a.m. in the Chapin Theater at the Orange County Convention Center.

Morris' story is the subject of the blockbuster film from Walt Disney, The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid, which won the ESPY for Sports Film of the Year. Originally drafted in the first round in 1984, Morris' dream of becoming a major league baseball player was derailed by a series of debilitating arm injuries. Some 11 years after retiring from minor league baseball, Morris tried out for the Major Leagues and was immediately signed to a professional baseball contract, becoming the oldest rookie in the Major Leagues. After pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers, Morris retired from baseball in 2001.

For more information, visit www.PoolandSpaExpo.com.