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Home , Ball boy, Casey Stengel, Johnny Cooney, Manager (baseball), Tony Cuccinello

The Monitor • Naples, Texas 75568-0039 • Thursday, February 12, 2015• Page 5

A day of fun, food and Annual at R. E. Moore Sportsplex is March 21 The annual opening day at the R. E. Moore Sportsplex to come out and take part in the day’s events. There will spokesperson. “Lunch will be served as a fundraiser for is set for Saturday March 21. It will be a day of fun, food be an opening ceremony starting at 10 a.m. the renovations to the park. Drawings will take place and baseball for the entire community! “The Annual R. E. Moore T-ball Tournament will be throughout the day. Make plans to attend and support OPRA invites and encourages the entire community going on during the day and is always a ,” said a park our local youth, as well as reminisce about the past.”

Early playing salary was $5 to $7 per game Reminiscing about the road leading to the major leagues by Lou Antonelli leagues. ent from that of today’s pro- In 168 games with Dallas, ging .425 and recording 211 players soon began coming to Naples is a town of about His son, Randy G. Moore, fessional baseball players. Moore had 245 hits and bat- total bases. His numbers are the ranch house, and eventu- 1,400 people. It is the birth- is a resident of Mount Pleas- Moore Jr. said his dad ted .369. His 245 hits included impressive considering he ally went into business to- place of one of the most ver- ant, formerly of Omaha, and would move from town to 187 singles, both of which are played 10 games at first base, gether in the Texas oil fields. satile ball players in Major has countless stories of his town in search of playing for records of the Texas League 12 games in left field and 111 “Another baseball great League Baseball during the dad’s journey as an East any team that would give him that have stood for 85 years. games in right field. who came and visited was Al 1920s and '30s. Texas kid who would go on to a small sum of money for a During his two years with Moore played for the Lopez, a Hall of Fame Randolph Edward Moore have a 10-year career in the night’s work of playing base- the White Sox organization, Braves until the winter of for Brooklyn at the same time was born in Naples on June majors. ball. the team trained in the same 1935, when he was traded to my dad was up there,” Moore 21, 1906, and would go on to In an era before little “When he started playing, Florida town as the New York the Brooklyn Dodgers along JR. said “It was Lopez and befriend George Herman league baseball and year- there was no Little League,” Yankees, which featured a with Ed Brandt for Ray Casey, and two other play- ‘Babe’ Ruth and former Yan- round travel baseball, Moore Jr. said “Every town burly by the name Benge, , ers. Watty Clark who was a kees Moore’s path to the MLB is had a team, and when he got of . Bobby Reis and Al Lopez. The for Brooklyn, and during his time in the big one that is completely differ- up in his short teenage years, Moore Jr. said his dad be- trade to the Dodgers led to who was a 14, 15, 16, he would go around friended the Great Bambino. Moore meeting a man who real good ball player for to towns, and they would pay Ruth discovered Moore’s af- would become a great friend, Brooklyn. They all got in the him five dollars to seven dol- finity for fishing. manager Casey Stengel. oil business together, and lars a night. He would catch “When my father was with Casey Stengel was allowed invested in some properties a train in Naples, and ride to the , Chi- the trading rights at Brook- in Talco which they had for a Texarkana and they would cago trained at St. Peters- lyn for the Dodgers Associa- number of years.” pay him 10 dollars a night to burg (Florida) and the Yan- tion to do all the trades,” Moore played for the Dodg- play. He continued to do that, kees trained at St. Peters- Moore Jr. said. “He traded ers until May 1937, when he to do what he wanted to do.” burg,” Moore Jr. said “They for an outfielder, a pitcher was traded to St. Louis for Moore began playing for played each other in after- and my dad an . The Paul Chervinko. On Sept. 9, the Mount Pleasant Cats in noon games at St. Petersburg, pitcher hurt his arm in spring the Cardinals, ending his ca- 1923 at 17, and played with and Ruth found out that my training; the outfielder got reer in the majors at the age the team until 1925, before father liked to go fishing. He hit on the hand in the 31, released Moore. finishing the year with the wanted to do it once a week cage and broke three fingers. Being from East Texas, Longview Cannibals. and my dad said ‘Babe, if I go My father got a on Moore kept in shape during At 21, Moore began play- too much they’re going to opening day of the season, his baseball career in a way ing for the Waco Cubs of the me off.’ Ruth always told him, slid into second and broke his that would be strange to Texas League, before mak- ‘Kid, I’ll always take care of ankle.” major league players of to- ing his MLB debut with the you.’ They went on their fish- This was a contributing day. Chicago White Sox the same ing trips and became real factor to Stengel being fired “My father kept himself in year. good friends.” early in the 1936 season. shape by quail hunting in the Moore only appeared in six After Moore’s record set- Moore then became friends off season,” Moore Jr. said. games, going hitless in 15 at ting 1929 season, the Boston with Stengel when he saw “Casey would walk along with bats, but he had made it to Braves purchased Moore’s Moore in the clubhouse pack- him, but he never did hunt. the majors. Another stint contract, where he would ing his things. He just walked to be with with Waco in 1928 prompted spend the majority of his ca- “Four days later he was in him. My dad would hunt all the White Sox to bring him reer in MLB. From 1930- 32, the clubhouse with a cast on morning with one set of dogs. back to Chicago again, this Moore was a valuable player his leg cleaning his locker That’s how he stayed in time playing in 24 games and for the Braves, despite usu- out, and Casey Stengel came shape. At that time, East recording 13 hits while hit- ally coming off the bench by and he said, “What are Texas had a lot of good quail ting .213 at the plate. whenever the team needed you doing?” Moore Jr. said. county.” Moore then went back to him. His versatility was one “My dad said he was going With Moore staying in the Texas League, this time of the reasons he did not get home and wasn’t going to stay shape by hunting all day, his with the Dallas Steers, and a chance to play regularly for there. He knew he was from baseball skills stayed sharp had one of the greatest sea- the Braves. Texas but didn’t know where by having equipment from sons in the history of the “In the majors, the very from. My dad told him he was whatever team he was with RANDY E. MOORE WITH THE BOSTON BRAVES league.- thing that got him to the from Omaha, Texas. Casey shipped to him. majors, his versatility, was said ‘Well you country so-and- “He worked real hard to what kept his batting aver- so, you got me fired. So I make it to the major leagues, age down because Bill Mc- believe I’ll go home with you.” and he worked hard to stay Kechnie- Boston Braves man- Stengel then rode with up there,” Moore Jr. said. “He ager- wouldn’t play him ev- Moore from Brooklyn to would have the clubs he was eryday,” Moore Jr. said. “He Omaha, Texas. with send him a bag of balls wanted him to be available if “They drove a Dodge in the off season. Fungo bats, any infielder went down. His Coupe from Brooklyn to balls, gloves and some bats. batting average in the ma- Omaha,” Moore Jr. said “They He had three guys who jors was .278, and my father lived in the house that we pitched batting practice to my on numerous occasions told still have there at the ranch, father. Then they’d use the me that if they would have and it went on to be a legend- fungo bats and my dad would played him more they would ary house with players. Of shag fly balls. When the sea- have won more ball games.” course Stengel was there, and son started he was ready to Moore finally got his he was in and out of Omaha go, and that’s how he kept his chance to play regularly in and really liked it. He came job up there.” 1933 and had the best year of back there in 1965 and dedi- Moore’s relationship with his career. Moore finished cated our ballpark.” Stengel allowed Moore Jr. to 23rd in the MVP voting that Stengel began going to have an exciting experience year, hitting .302 with eight Omaha regularly because he at a game in home runs, 23 doubles, seven enjoyed Texas more than go- New York while watching RANDY MOORE POSES WITH HIS NEW 1929 MODEL A triples and 70 RBI while slug- ing home to California. Other Stengel manage the power- house Yankees. “Casey got in the habit of coming to our house after he got fired from Brooklyn,” Moore Jr. said. “Later when he got the Yankee job, it was just a shoe-in. He wins 10 pennants and seven World Series, so we all went to the World Series up there. It was very difficult to get tickets to the World Series. We had a box right behind the Yankee . One time I was sit- ting there before the game. My father kept talking to two men behind him, I never did look back.” “He just kept looking back at these two men. A stepped out of the Yankee dugout and my dad asked him for a baseball. He looked back and said ‘sign this for my son Randy.’ When the ball came back, one side was Bill McKechnie, my father’s man- ager at Boston, and the other side was Jim Thorpe. I turned around then and looked at Thorpe.” In a time where baseball players made a fraction of what they do today, Moore Jr. said his dad’s salary wasn’t what made it special, but the experiences that stemmed from it. “The most important thing is not what he made,” Moore Jr. said. “Of course during the Depression the salaries weren’t very much, but it was the fact that it entered him into other businesses. People wanted him to come in and 1921 Naples High School Buffaloes tell them about (Babe) Ruth, Randolph Moore started his baseball career as a member of the Naples High School Buffaloes in 1921. This team photo was made at Casey, and Rab- Martin Ball Park in Naples. Seated on the front row, left to right, were Grady (Dick) Lowery, Loyd Legg, Ivan Dycus, Randolph Moore bit Maranville. He used it as and W. D. Berry. Members of the baseball team, standing left to right, were Wendell Smith, John A. Williams II, Paul Patterson, Acey an entrée, and ironically the Drew, Jack Archer and Walter (Hook) Floyd. O&Y Photo entrée is still there. People ask me about it.”