View source for Wally Moon

{{Short description|American baseball player (1930–2018)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Wally Moon
|image=Wally Moon 1961.png
|caption=Moon in 1961.
|position=[[Outfielder]]
|bats=Left
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{birth date|1930|4|3}}
|birth_place=[[Bay, Arkansas]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|2018|2|9|1930|4|3}}
|death_place=[[Bryan, Texas]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 13
|debutyear=1954
|debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 12
|finalyear=1965
|finalteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.289
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=142
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=661
|teams=
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{baseball year|1954}}–{{baseball year|1958}})
* [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] ({{baseball year|1959}}–{{baseball year|1965}})
|highlights=
* 3× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1957]], [[1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (first game)|1959]], [[1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (second game)|1959²]])
* 3× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1959}}, {{wsy|1963}}, {{wsy|1965}})
* [[NL Rookie of the Year]] (1954)
* [[Gold Glove Award]] (1960)
}}
'''Wallace Wade Moon'''<ref name=LAT032308>Steve Springer, [http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-moon23mar23,1,3704791.story "Dodgers' Moon found success in Coliseum"], ''Los Angeles Times'', March 23, 2008.</ref> (April 3, 1930 – February 9, 2018) was an American professional baseball [[outfielder]] in [[Major League Baseball]]. Moon played his 12-year career in the major leagues for the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] (1954–1958) and [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (1959–1965). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Moon was the [[Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award|1954 National League Rookie of the Year]]. He was an [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] for two seasons and a [[Gold Glove]] winner one season. Moon [[Batting average (baseball)|batted]] .295 or more for seven seasons. He led the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] in [[Triple (baseball)|triples]] in 1959 and in [[fielding percentage]] as a [[left fielder]] in 1960 and 1961.

Moon was a three-time World Series champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959, 1963, and 1965.

==Youth==

Moon was named after [[Wallace Wade]], a former [[college football]] coach at the [[Alabama Crimson Tide football|University of Alabama]] and [[Duke Blue Devils football|Duke University]]. From a family of educators, he earned a master's degree in administrative education from [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]] while he was still in the minor leagues.<ref name="LAT032308"/>  He coached from 1953 to 1954 at [[Lake City, Arkansas|Lake City]], also in Craighead County, Arkansas.

==Major league career==

In the spring of 1954, the Cardinals told Moon to report to their minor league spring training camp. He ignored the order and reported instead to [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]] with the Cardinals. He said that he would make the team or quit baseball. They let him stay, and by the end of the spring training he replaced [[Enos Slaughter]] in the outfield. To make room for him on the roster, St. Louis sent Slaughter to the [[New York Yankees]].

Moon made his major league debut on April 13, 1954. In his first [[at-bat]], despite chants of "We want Slaughter", he belted a [[home run]] against the [[Chicago Cubs]]; in the same game [[Tom Alston]] became the first [[African American]] to play for the Cardinals. Moon finished his rookie season with a .304 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]], 12 home runs, 76 [[runs batted in]], and career-high numbers in [[Run (baseball)|runs]] (106), [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] (193), [[Double (baseball)|doubles]] (29), and  [[stolen bases]] (18) in 151 games. He earned both the [[MLB Rookie of the Year award|''MLB'' Rookie of the Year]] and [[Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award|''The Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year]] honors. Earning 17 out of 24 first-place votes, Moon won easily over [[Ernie Banks]], [[Gene Conley]] and [[Hank Aaron]].<ref name="LAT032308"/>

A fine left fielder with a good arm, Moon also played [[Right fielder|right field]] and [[Center fielder|center]] as well as [[First baseman|first base]]. He hit a career-high 24 homers in [[1957 in baseball|1957]], and made the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] team in [[1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1957]] and [[1959 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (second game)|1959]] (two games were played). Twice in his career, Moon compiled double figures in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases: 22, 11, 16, 12 in 1956, and 26, 11, 19, 15 in [[1959 in baseball|1959]], his first year with the Dodgers.

[[File:Wally Moon - St. Louis Cardinals - 1957.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Moon in 1957]]
After the 1958 season, the Cardinals traded Moon to the Dodgers for outfielder [[Gino Cimoli]]. Both players were coming off years when they batted below .250; the Cardinals also sent pitcher [[Phil Paine]], who never played for the Dodgers. Moon was initially concerned about batting in the converted [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] because right field was {{convert|440|ft}} away, making it difficult for a left-handed batter. However, the left field seats were only {{convert|251|ft}} away, protected by a {{convert|42|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} screen. After consulting with friend and mentor [[Stan Musial]], Moon adjusted his batting stance to emphasize hitting to left. The results were very successful.<ref name="LAT032308"/> In his first season with the Dodgers, the team won the [[1959 World Series|World Championship]]. Moon provided support in the lineup for [[Duke Snider]], [[Gil Hodges]] and [[Don Demeter]]. He gained quick public acclaim in 1959 for the "Moon shots" that he hit over the high left field screen.<ref name="LAT032308"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jackson |first1=Frank |title=Moon Shots |url=http://www.hardballtimes.com/moon-shots/ |website=hardballtimes.com |date=August 7, 2012 |publisher=The Hardball Times |access-date=December 26, 2015}}</ref> Moon hit a home run in the sixth and final game of that World Series, which the Dodgers won over the [[Chicago White Sox]]. He also caught [[Luis Aparicio]]'s fly ball for the final out of the Series.

Moon was a [[Gold Glove Award]] winner for left field in [[1960 in baseball|1960]] leading [[National League (baseball)|National League]] left fielders in [[Assist (baseball)|assist]]s, [[double play]]s, and [[fielding percentage]]. He had another good season in [[1961 in baseball|1961]], batting .328 with 17 home runs and 88 runs batted in while leading National League left fielders in fielding percentage.

A career .289 hitter, Moon hit 142 home runs with 661 runs batted in during 1457 games, with a .371 [[on-base percentage]] and a .445 [[Slugging percentage|slugging average]] for a combined .816 [[on-base plus slugging]] percentage. His career [[fielding percentage]] at all three outfield positions and first base was .980.  He also scored the last run ever in the Coliseum.<ref name="LAT032308"/> He retired as a player after the 1965 season.

==Post-playing career==
In 1969, Moon was a batting coach for the San Diego Padres, joining [[baseball manager|manager]] [[Preston Gómez]] and [[pitching coach]] and former teammate [[Roger Craig (baseball)|Roger Craig]].

In the mid-70s Moon was an instructor at the Sho-Me baseball camp owned by the Kansas City Royals, located in Branson, Missouri.

Moon went on to become [[athletic director]] and baseball coach at [[John Brown University]], and a coach and minor league manager and owner of the [[San Antonio Dodgers]] for four years beginning in the late 1970s.

Moon managed the minor-league Frederick Keys, a Carolina League affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, in 1990 and 1991.

Moon moved to [[Bryan, Texas]], where he lived for over 25 years. He retired in 1998. He was married to Bettye and had five children and seven grandchildren.<ref name="LAT032308"/>

Moon is featured on many websites featuring baseball cards, as he sported a prominent [[unibrow]].

The January 27, 1960, episode ("The Larry Hanify Story") of the popular TV western ''[[Wagon Train]]'' featured Moon in a brief role. The end credits included: "And Introducing Wally Moon as Sheriff Bender." There was no baseball tie-in with his character, but the sheriff was hit by a bullet during a shoot-out with Tommy Sands' bad guy.

Moon died on February 9, 2018, at the age of 87.<ref>[https://www.seccountry.com/texas-am/former-texas-great-mlb-star-wally-moon-dies-87 Former Texas A&M great, MLB star Wally Moon dies at 87]</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat|Home run in first Major League at-bat]]
* [[List of Gold Glove Award winners at outfield]]
* [[MLB Rookie of the Year Award]]
* [[Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award|''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year Award]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Baseballstats |mlb=119279 |espn=25395 |br=m/moonwa01 |fangraphs=1009085 |brm=moon--001wal |retro=M/Pmoonw101 }}
* {{SABR Baseball Biography Project|ea6105de}}
* {{Find a Grave|187228576}}

{{1959 Los Angeles Dodgers}}
{{1963 Los Angeles Dodgers}}
{{1965 Los Angeles Dodgers}}
{{NL Rookie of the Year}}
{{NL OF Gold Glove Award}}
{{Sporting News MLB Rookie of the year}}
{{Frederick Keys managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Wally}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Arkansas]]
[[Category:Gold Glove Award winners]]
[[Category:Houston Buffaloes players]]
[[Category:John Brown Golden Eagles athletic directors]]
[[Category:John Brown Golden Eagles baseball coaches]]
[[Category:John Brown University faculty]]
[[Category:Lácteos de Pastora players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball outfielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball managers]]
[[Category:National League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Omaha Cardinals players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Craighead County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Rochester Red Wings players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals players]]
[[Category:San Diego Padres coaches]]
[[Category:Texas A&M Aggies baseball players]]
[[Category:Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]