Charley Moran
Encyclopedia
Charles Barthell Moran nicknamed "Uncle Charley," was an American
sportsman who gained renown as both a catcher
and umpire
in Major League Baseball
and as a collegiate
and professional football
coach.
, and played football for the University of Tennessee
in 1897, but left after one year to go to Bethel College
, where he coached football as well as playing the sport. After graduating, he became an assistant to Pop Warner
at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
, and played minor league baseball in 1902 for teams in Little Rock
, Chattanooga
and Dallas
.
In , Moran pitched
for the National League
's St. Louis Cardinals
, who finished in last place, but he appeared in only three games (plus another as a shortstop
) before injuring his arm. He posted a 5.25 earned run average
in his brief tenure of 24 innings
, being charged with a loss without earning a win
, but also batted
.429. He went back to the minor leagues to manage
the Dallas Giants in 1904, and continued playing with teams in Galveston
(1905), Waco
and Cleburne
(1906), Grand Rapids
(1906–07) and Savannah
(1908). He returned to the Cardinals as a catcher in 1908 and played in 21 games, batting .175 as the team again finished last.
His minor league career continued with teams in Milwaukee
, Mobile
, New Orleans
, Dallas and Montgomery
until he suffered a broken leg in 1912. He briefly played with teams in Chattanooga and Brunswick in 1913 before retiring as a player. After managing an Austin
team in 1914, he began umpiring, in the Texas League
in 1915–16 and the Southern Association
in 1917.
, where he accumulated a 38–8–4 record as head coach over six seasons through 1914. Note. This may be incorrect as he was elevated to head coach after the second game of the 1909 season.
He became a National League umpire in 1918, a job he held through the 1939 season. He officiated in four World Series
(1927
, 1929
, 1933
, and 1938
), serving as crew chief on the last two occasions. He was behind the plate on May 8, 1929 when Carl Hubbell
of the New York Giants
pitched an 11–0 no-hitter
against the Pittsburgh Pirates
.
Moran also resumed his career as a football head coach in 1919 at Centre College
, where he had a 42–6–1 record in five seasons. He had previously been working as an assistant coach at Carlisle, and had visited Centre to see his son Tom—later an NFL player with the New York Giants
—play; after helping the team prepare for an important contest he was offered the head coaching job by the school. His record including undefeated seasons in 1919 and 1921, when the team was led on the field by Hall of Fame
quarterback Bo McMillin
. On October 29, 1921, Moran guided Centre College to a historic 6–0 upset of Harvard
, which had been unbeaten the previous two seasons. The game, commonly appreviated “C6-H0”, was ranked the 3rd biggest upset in college football
history by ESPN.
During the 1921 season Moran began a friendship with future baseball commissioner Happy Chandler
, who was then a player on an opposing Transylvania University
team. Moran then moved to Bucknell University
, where he had a 19–10–2 record from 1924 through 1926.
He was co-coach with Ed Weir
of the NFL's Frankford Yellow Jackets
in 1927
, but left after the team managed only a 6–9–3 season. His final coaching job was at Catawba College
from 1930 through 1933, where he had a 22–11–5 record.
Moran died of heart disease at age 71 in Horse Cave, Kentucky
, and was buried at Horse Cave Cemetery. He was named to the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1968.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportsman who gained renown as both a catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
and umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
and as a collegiate
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach.
Early life
Moran was born in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, and played football for the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
in 1897, but left after one year to go to Bethel College
Bethel College (Tennessee)
Bethel University is a Cumberland Presbyterian college in McKenzie, Tennessee.-Biography:It was founded in 1842 in McLemoresville, Tennessee as Bethel Seminary, becoming Bethel College in 1850, and given a state charter in 1847, making it one of the oldest colleges to use the name "Bethel...
, where he coached football as well as playing the sport. After graduating, he became an assistant to Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner , most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American football player and coach...
at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...
, and played minor league baseball in 1902 for teams in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
and Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
.
In , Moran pitched
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
for the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
's St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
, who finished in last place, but he appeared in only three games (plus another as a shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
) before injuring his arm. He posted a 5.25 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
in his brief tenure of 24 innings
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...
, being charged with a loss without earning a win
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
, but also batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.429. He went back to the minor leagues to manage
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
the Dallas Giants in 1904, and continued playing with teams in Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
(1905), Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
and Cleburne
Cleburne, Texas
Cleburne is a city in Johnson County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. According to 2007 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population is 29,050. It is the county seat of Johnson County. Cleburne is named for a Confederate General, Patrick Cleburne...
(1906), Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
(1906–07) and Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
(1908). He returned to the Cardinals as a catcher in 1908 and played in 21 games, batting .175 as the team again finished last.
His minor league career continued with teams in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Dallas and Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
until he suffered a broken leg in 1912. He briefly played with teams in Chattanooga and Brunswick in 1913 before retiring as a player. After managing an Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
team in 1914, he began umpiring, in the Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
in 1915–16 and the Southern Association
Southern Association
The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A , Class A1 and Class AA...
in 1917.
Coaching and officiating
Moran began coaching football in 1909 at Texas A&MTexas A&M Aggies football
The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...
, where he accumulated a 38–8–4 record as head coach over six seasons through 1914. Note. This may be incorrect as he was elevated to head coach after the second game of the 1909 season.
He became a National League umpire in 1918, a job he held through the 1939 season. He officiated in four World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
(1927
1927 World Series
In the 1927 World Series, the New York Yankees swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in four games. This was the first sweep of a National League team by an American League team....
, 1929
1929 World Series
In the 1929 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs in five games.The famous "Mack Attack" occurred in 1929, named for manager of the Athletics, Connie Mack, in which the Athletics overcame an eight-run deficit by scoring ten runs in the seventh inning of Game 4...
, 1933
1933 World Series
The 1933 World Series featured the New York Giants and the Washington Senators, with the Giants winning in five games for their first championship since , and their fourth overall....
, and 1938
1938 World Series
The 1938 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Chicago Cubs, with the Yankees sweeping the Series in four games for their seventh championship and record third straight .Dizzy Dean, who had helped carry the Cubs to the National League pennant despite a...
), serving as crew chief on the last two occasions. He was behind the plate on May 8, 1929 when Carl Hubbell
Carl Hubbell
Carl Owen Hubbell was an American baseball player. He was a member of the New York Giants in the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained on the Giants' payroll for the rest of his life, long after their move to San Francisco.Twice voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, Hubbell...
of the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
pitched an 11–0 no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
.
Moran also resumed his career as a football head coach in 1919 at Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
, where he had a 42–6–1 record in five seasons. He had previously been working as an assistant coach at Carlisle, and had visited Centre to see his son Tom—later an NFL player with the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
—play; after helping the team prepare for an important contest he was offered the head coaching job by the school. His record including undefeated seasons in 1919 and 1921, when the team was led on the field by Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
quarterback Bo McMillin
Bo McMillin
Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin was an American football player and coach, who served at both the collegiate and professional levels. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where was a three-time All-American at quarterback, and led the Centre Praying Colonels to a...
. On October 29, 1921, Moran guided Centre College to a historic 6–0 upset of Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, which had been unbeaten the previous two seasons. The game, commonly appreviated “C6-H0”, was ranked the 3rd biggest upset in college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
history by ESPN.
During the 1921 season Moran began a friendship with future baseball commissioner Happy Chandler
Happy Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951 and...
, who was then a player on an opposing Transylvania University
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...
team. Moran then moved to Bucknell University
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
, where he had a 19–10–2 record from 1924 through 1926.
He was co-coach with Ed Weir
Ed Weir
Samuel Edwin Weir was an American collegiate and professional football player.He was the first Nebraska Cornhusker football player elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and is known as one of Nebraska's greatest athletes...
of the NFL's Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...
in 1927
1927 NFL season
The 1927 NFL season was the 8th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, the league decided to eliminate the financially weaker teams. As a result, the league dropped from 22 to 12 teams, and a majority of the remaining teams were centered around the East Coast instead...
, but left after the team managed only a 6–9–3 season. His final coaching job was at Catawba College
Catawba College
Catawba College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in Salisbury, North Carolina, USA. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its current home of Salisbury...
from 1930 through 1933, where he had a 22–11–5 record.
Moran died of heart disease at age 71 in Horse Cave, Kentucky
Horse Cave, Kentucky
Horse Cave is a city in Hart County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,252 at the 2000 census.- History :The city is best known for the large natural cave opening located on the south side of Main Street, from which the town's name is derived. As for the historical reason for the odd...
, and was buried at Horse Cave Cemetery. He was named to the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1968.