It was around this time 15 years ago when the Red Sox fired John McNamara and called on Morgan to be their temporary solution.

Coming off the All-Star break, the 1988 Red Sox -- a talented veteran team tabbed by many to win the AL East -- were floundering. Just a game over .500, they were nine games back in the AL East.

Morgan -- largely anonymous at that point -- was the interim solution only because he was convenient, given that he was the bullpen coach on McNamara's staff.

The plan was that general manager Lou Gorman would be on the swift hunt for a big-name skipper while Morgan guided the ship for a week or two.

Morgan, who looks a positively young and fit 72 years old, remembers the whole story like it was a year ago instead of a decade and a half ago.

"I saw Haywood Sullivan going into John McNamara's office in one door. Then in the other door Lou Gorman was coming in and he walked over to me and he said we're going to make a managerial change and you'll be the interim manager," said Morgan. "That's the story."

Well, that's how the story started.

But then something crazy happened. The Red Sox busted out of the All-Star break with 12 consecutive wins. They won 19 out of 20, and 24 in a row at home.

That majestic period in Red Sox history -- known as "Morgan Magic" -- is something that could take decades to duplicate. Or, according to Morgan, it might never be duplicated.

"That will never happen again, I don't think. Not 12 in a row for an interim manager," Morgan said. "When a manager gets fired, they usually have a lousy team. We didn't have a lousy team. We just weren't doing any good and it just happened that way."

The Red Sox finished as AL East champions. Despite being swept by the A's in the AL Championship Series, Sox fans always think back fondly to that summer of '88.

Making Morgan even more lovable was that he was the local boy who made good at 57 years old. The man has lived in Walpole, Mass., his entire life. That is something that will never change.

He has the quintessential Boston accent. During his days as a minor league manager, he used to earn money in the winter by plowing snow and working as a toll booth collector.

And "Morgan Magic" is a story that never gets stale to the most ardent Sox followers. In fact, it never gets old to Morgan either.

"It's one of those things that only happens once in a while," Morgan said. "It's special because I had waited forever, 30 years in the minor leagues. That's what really made it special."

Morgan last managed for the Red Sox 12 years ago, yet a day hardly goes by when some stranger doesn't reminisce with him about '88.

What does Morgan recall most about that wild string of wins? It had to be the comeback against the Twins that Todd Benzinger completed by curling a walkoff homer around the Pesky Pole in right, capping an 11-inning victory. That was Morgan's seventh consecutive victory after taking over. It turned out to be a lucky seven.

"Benzinger hit that home run and Mrs. [Jean] Yawkey said, 'Give that guy a contract for the rest of the year,'" Morgan said, referring to the team's owner at the time. "That was the biggest hit in the whole bunch."

Morgan managed the Red Sox for 3 1/2 seasons and there were other big moments besides his gaudy beginning.

In 1990, the Sox, a plucky team picked by most "experts" to have a mediocre season, won the AL East. It went down to Game No. 162, with Tom Brunansky making a sliding catch in the right field corner to clinch the division.

The Sox underachieved for much of 1991, falling 11 games behind the Blue Jays in early August. But they went on a near two-month tear that was almost reminiscent of Morgan Magic, cutting that lead down to a half-game. The Sox were one strike away from moving into first in late September, only to see it spoiled when Jeff Reardon gave up a devastating homer to the Yankees' Roberto Kelly.

That win was not only costly for the Sox, who never recovered, but also for Morgan, who lost his job the day after the season ended.

"But what got me was that at the end of that year, we had a gang of injuries. [Wade] Boggs and [Mike] Greenwell and I don't even remember who else," Morgan said. "It was a good run and it was lousy to see it end that way. We came within a game of going ahead and then we kind of went south after that."

Dismissing Morgan in favor of Butch Hobson was an unpopular move among the masses.

Morgan's parting shot was that "this team isn't as good as people think."

As it turned out, he was right. Hobson's teams finished under .500 three straight seasons.

The odd thing was that Morgan -- who surely could have landed a job somewhere after his firing from the Sox -- never even attempted to look for another job.

"I didn't want to manage anymore," Morgan said. "I did plenty of roaming around this country. In and out of hotels and planes and all that jazz. Plus I was old enough the following year to take my pension, which I did. Without that pension plan, I'd probably still be working somewhere."

Instead, he lives a peaceful and simple existence in Walpole. Every now and then, he strays to another locale for a vacation.

He is the townie's townie. So is his wife Dot. In fact, the Morgans have lived in the same house since 1958.

Every now and then, he ventures out of Walpole and takes a little getaway. But nothing elaborate.

"We go to Florida in March, we go to the Kentucky Derby. Once in a while, we go to Saratoga," Morgan said. "That's about it."

With no lineup cards to fill out, Morgan spends his days gardening and golfing and his nights watching the Sox. He gets to about five or six games a year.

He is thoroughly enjoying the 2003 Red Sox.

"I watch every game," Morgan said. "They're very exciting. When you have a hitting club, it's always exciting. Now we're beefing up the bullpen so if we can stay close, anything could happen going down the highway."

Morgan is a fan of Sox manager Grady Little, who rode the bus for some 16 years as a minor league manager.

"His career is similar to mine," Morgan said. "He's done a good job because he had a terrible bullpen to start this year. Plus the Yankees went 20-4 to start the year. He kept them together."

Though he said he doesn't miss managing "one iota," Morgan, of course, still manages in front of the television set.

"Do I second guess? Absolutely. That's part of baseball," Morgan said.

Just like "Morgan Magic" will always be a part of Red Sox legend.

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.