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Charley Moran

Biographical details
Born	(1878-02-22)February 22, 1878 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	June 14, 1949(1949-06-14) (aged 71) Horse Cave, Kentucky, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1897	Tennessee
1898–1899	Bethel (TN)
Baseball
1903, 1908	St. Louis Cardinals
Position(s)	Running back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1898	Bethel (TN)
1900–1901	Nashville
1902–1903	Dallas A. C.
1909–1914	Texas A&M
1915	Carlisle (trainer)
1917–1923	Centre
1924–1926	Bucknell
1927	Frankford Yellow Jackets
1930–1933	Catawba
Baseball
1909–1914	Texas A&M
Head coaching record
Overall	138–35–13 (college football) 2–5–1 (NFL) 48–46–5 (college baseball)
Bowls	1–2
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football 1 SIAA (1921) 2 North State (1930, 1932)

Charles Barthell Moran (February 22, 1878 – June 14, 1949), 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 American football coach.

Early life

Moran was born in Nashville, Tennessee to an Irish Protestant family. He 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.

Moran coached the University of Nashville football team in 1900 and 1901. The 1901 team was one of the South's greatest.

Baseball

Moran played minor league baseball in 1902 for teams in Little Rock, Chattanooga and Dallas.

In 1903, 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). The 1906 Cleburne team won the Texas League championship. 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.

Coaching and officiating

Texas A&M

Moran began coaching football in 1909 at Texas A&M, 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.

Carlisle

He then became the trainer for Head Coach Victor "Choctaw" Kelley at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1915.

National League umpire

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.

Centre

Moran also resumed his career as a football head coach in 1917 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. The first two games of the 1917 season were coached by Robert L. "Chief" Myers, and the rest by Moran. According to Centre publications, "Myers realized he was dealing with a group of exceptional athletes, who were far beyond his ability to coach. He needed someone who could do the team justice, and found that person in Charles Moran." His record included 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 abbreviated "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.

Bucknell

Moran then moved to Bucknell University, where he had a 19–10–2 record from 1924 through 1926.

Frankford Yellow Jackets

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.

Catawba

His final coaching job was at Catawba College from 1930 through 1933, where he had a 22–11–5 record.

Death and legacy

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.

Head coaching record

College football

References

1. "Moran, Centre Coach Former Nashville Star" (PDF). The News Scimitar. November 29, 1919.
2. "Brown Calls Vanderbilt '06 Best Eleven South Ever Had". Atlanta Constitution. February 19, 1911. p. 52. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ Siler, Tom (June 22, 1949). "Death Ends Colorful Career of Charley Moran". The Sporting News. p. 15.
4. "League Champions | Texas League ABOUT US". Texas League. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
5. The Carlisle Arrow Volume XII Number 4
6. "Football". Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
7. "2011 Robert L. "Chief" Myers 1907".
8. ESPN ranks 1921 Centre-Harvard game among college football's greatest upsets Archived December 17, 2004, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Charley Moran at Find a Grave

• 1878 births
• 1949 deaths
• 19th-century players of American football
• Major League Baseball catchers
• Major League Baseball umpires
• Minor league baseball managers
• National League umpires
• St. Louis Cardinals players
• Austin Senators players
• Chattanooga Lookouts players
• Cleburne Railroaders players
• Dallas Giants players
• Dallas Griffins players
• Fort Worth Panthers players
• Galveston Sand Crabs players
• Bethel Wildcats football coaches
• Bethel Wildcats football players
• Bucknell Bison football coaches
• Carlisle Indians football coaches
• Catawba Indians football coaches
• Centre Colonels football coaches
• Frankford Yellow Jackets coaches
• Nashville Garnet and Blue football coaches
• Tennessee Volunteers football players
• Texas A&M Aggies football coaches
• Texas A&M Aggies baseball coaches
• Grand Rapids Wolverines players
• Little Rock Travelers players
• Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
• Montgomery Billikens players
• Savannah Indians players
• Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee
• Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee