Wally Moon

Lore & Background

Moon was the 1954 National League Rookie of the Year. He was a two-time All-Star and a one-time Gold Glove winner. He batted .295 or more for seven seasons and led the National League in triples in 1959 and in fielding percentage as a left fielder in 1960 and 1961. He was a three-time World Series champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959, 1963, and 1965. Moon died on February 9, 2018, at the age of 87.

In Their Own Story

The lights at Crosley Field hummed with that particular Cincinnati amber, and the crowd noise rolled in like a slow wave. Moon stood in left field, glove low, tracking a line drive that split the gap. He turned on his heels, the leather catching the ball before it kissed the warning track, and fired back to the plate in one smooth motion. The umpire called it out. The Reds dugout erupted. It was 1955, and the World Series was still young, but Moon already knew the weight of those October nights—the way the grass smelled after the sprinklers, the way his left hand ached after a hundred swings in the cage. He'd earned this. Every mile in the outfield, every early morning in the batting cage, had led to this single, perfect relay. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and walked back to his spot, eyes on the next pitch, the next out, the next ring.

Reader's Guide

Moon made his major league debut on April 13, 1954, hitting a home run in his first at-bat. He finished his rookie season with a .304 batting average, 12 home runs, 76 RBIs, and career highs in runs (106), hits (193), doubles (29), and stolen bases (18). He earned both the MLB Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year honors. After the 1958 season, the Cardinals traded him to the Dodgers for Gino Cimoli. In 1959, he hit a home run in Game 6 of the World Series and caught the final out. He won a Gold Glove in 1960 and batted .328 in 1961. His career statistics: .289 batting average, 142 home runs, 661 RBIs, .371 on-base percentage, .445 slugging percentage, and a .980 fielding percentage. He retired after the 1965 season.

Did You Know?

• Moon was named after Wallace Wade, a former college football coach at the University of Alabama and Duke University.
• He earned a master's degree in administrative education from Texas A&M University while still in the minor leagues.
• Moon appeared in a 1960 episode of the TV western Wagon Train, playing Sheriff Bender.
• He sported a prominent unibrow, which is featured on many baseball card websites.