Moon Mullen

{{short description|American baseball player (1917-2013)}} {{distinguish|text=musician Moon Mullens}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Moon Mullen |position=Second baseman |image=Ford_Mullen.jpg |caption=Mullen from the 1939 ''Oregana'' |bats=Left |throws=Right |birth_date={{birth date|1917|2|9}} |birth_place=Olympia, Washington, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|2013|2|28|1917|2|9}} |death_place=Stanwood, Washington, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=April 18 |debutyear=1944 |debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=October 1 |finalyear=1944 |finalteam=Philadelphia Phillies |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.267 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=0 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=31 |teams= *Philadelphia Phillies ({{baseball year|1944}}) }}

'''Ford Parker "Moon" Mullen''' (February 9, 1917 – February 28, 2013) was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball who played one year for the Philadelphia Blue Jays during the {{baseball year|1944}} season. Listed at 5' 9", 165 lb., Mullen batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He attended the University of Oregon, where he played baseball and basketball, and was a member of the basketball team that won the first NCAA men's basketball championship.

==Early life== Mullen was born in Olympia, Washington. He received the nickname "Moon" after the popular comic strip character "Moon Mullins".<ref name=legends>{{cite news|url=http://special.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/sports/8551087-41/story.csp|title=Living legends bring Ducks' legacy to life|date=February 27, 2009|access-date=January 7, 2010|work=The Register-Guard}}</ref> Mullen attended the University of Oregon, where he played baseball and basketball. He was a reserve guard on the 1938–39 Oregon Ducks men's basketball team coached by Howard Hobson, and winners of the first ever NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.<ref name=legends/> On the baseball team (also coached by Hobson), he played third base, catcher, and second base.<ref name=legends/>

==Professional career== In 1944, Mullen played 118 games for the Philadelphia Blue Jays (as the Philadelphia Phillies were briefly known), posting a .267 batting average (124-for-464) with 51 runs and 31 RBI, including nine doubles, four triples, four stolen bases, and a .315 on-base percentage with no home runs.<ref name=br>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mullemo01.shtml|publisher=Baseball Reference|title=Moon Mullen|access-date=January 7, 2010}}</ref> Following the 1944 season, Mullen was one of many major leaguers who saw his baseball career interrupted by a stint in the United States Army during World War II. He missed the 1945 and 1946 seasons, then attended spring training with the Phillies but did not make the team.<ref name=legends/> He played most of the rest of his career in the Pacific Coast League with the Portland Beavers. His last professional season was spent as player-manager for the 1950 Boise Pilots of the Pioneer League.<ref name=legends/>

==After baseball== He was married to his wife Jessie, whom he met at a high school football game, for 72 years.<ref name=stone/> After his baseball career, he returned to Olympia where he coached the Olympia High School baseball team and taught high school biology and zoology for 27 years before his retirement.<ref name=legends/>

He died in Stanwood, Washington on February 28, 2013. He had suffered a stroke two weeks prior to his death.<ref name=stone>{{cite web|last=Stone |first=Larry |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/mariners/2020467801_mullen02.html |title=Ford 'Moon' Mullen, ex-major-leaguer and member of 'Tall Firs' Oregon team, dies at 96|publisher=The Seattle Times |date= |access-date=2013-03-02}}</ref> At the age of 96 he was the last surviving member of the Ducks' 1939 NCAA team and was one of the oldest living major league ballplayers.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{citation |last=Stone |first=Larry |title=Washington's oldest major-leaguer looks back on a life well lived | newspaper=The Seattle Times |date=January 29, 2011 |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2014070364_mullen30.html}}

==External links== {{baseballstats|br=m/mullemo01|brm=mullen001for}}, or [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmullm101.htm Retrosheet]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullen, Moon}} Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Major League Baseball second basemen Category:Boise Pilots players Category:Oregon Ducks baseball players Category:Oregon Ducks men's basketball players Category:Baseball players from Olympia, Washington Category:Basketball players from Washington (state) Category:Military personnel from Washington (state) Category:United States Army personnel of World War II Category:1917 births Category:2013 deaths Category:American men's basketball players Category:Alexandria Aces players Category:Henderson Oilers players Category:Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Category:Portland Beavers players Category:Seattle Rainiers players Category:Vancouver Capilanos players Category:Winston-Salem Twins players Category:20th-century American sportsmen