Moon Ducote

Moon Ducote
Ducote at Loyola in 1924
Sport(s)	Football, baseball, basketball
Biographical details
Born	August 28, 1897
Place of birth	Cottonport, Louisiana
Died	March 26, 1937 (aged 39)
Place of death	New Orleans, Louisiana
Playing career
1915–1917 1918 1919–1921 1920 1923 1925–1926	Auburn Cleveland Naval Reserve Mobile Bears Cleveland Tigers Portsmouth Truckers Charlotte Hornets
Position(s)	Fullback, end, guard Outfielder
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football 1919 1921–1922 1924–1925 1933–1934 1935 Baseball 1924 Basketball 1923–1924 1935–1936	Spring Hill Spring Hill Loyola (LA) Spring Hill Loyola (LA) (backs) Louisiana State Louisiana State Loyola (LA) (asst.)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1936–1937	Loyola (LA)
Head coaching record
Overall	5–11–2 (football) 4–9 (baseball)

Richard Joseph "Moon" Ducote (August 28, 1897 – March 26, 1937) was an American baseball, football, and basketball coach, football and baseball player, football official, and businessman. He served as the head football coach at Loyola University of New Orleans from 1924 to 1925 and at Spring Hill College for five non-consecutive years between 1919 and 1934. Ducote was the head baseball and basketball coach at Louisiana State University in 1924. He played minor league baseball with the Mobile Bears, Portsmouth Truckers, and Charlotte Hornets. In 1920, he played with the Cleveland Tigers of the American Professional Football Association.

Early life

Ducote was born in Cottonport, Louisiana on August 28, 1897.^[1] Later a resident of Mobile, Alabama, Ducote attended Auburn University, where he played on the football team under Mike Donahue, primarily as a fullback, but also as a guard and end from 1916 to 1917.^[2][3] He was named to the All-Southern Conference team as an end in 1916 and as a fullback in 1917.^[4] At Auburn, he was known for his skill at drop kicking.^[5] In the 1917 game against Georgia,^[6] Ducote kicked a 40-yard field goal off of his football helmet in the mud, which proved the only points in the 3–0 Auburn victory.^[6][7] The maneuver prompted a rule that stated the ball must be kicked directly off the ground.^[7] In 1933, Mike Donahue and Dr. John O. Rush published their choice for the "All-Time Auburn Football Team" in the Mobile Press-Register, which named Ducote as the fullback. Donahue noted that Ducote was "undoubtedly the best ever" according to The Tuscaloosa News.^[8]

Professional playing career

In 1918, he played on the Cleveland Naval Reserve football team.^[9] In 1920, he played in one game for the Cleveland Tigers in the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League).^[10] From 1919 to 1921, he played minor league baseball with the Mobile Bears in the Southern Association.^[1] In 1923, he played for the Portsmouth Truckers of the Virginia League, and from 1925 to 1926, he played for the Charlotte Hornets of the South Atlantic League.^[1] During this time, he would spend the winters in New Orleans, where he served as a college football coach outside of the baseball season.^[11]

Coaching career

Spring Hill College hired Ducote as its football coach in December 1918.^[12] He returned to the position for the 1921 season,^[13] a post he held through 1922.^[14] Ducote spent one season as head coach for the basketball and baseball teams at Louisiana State University. In basketball, he coached the Tigers to a 8–12 finish during the 1923–24 season.^[15] Ducote led the LSU baseball team to a 4–9 record in 1924.^[16]

The Loyola University of New Orleans hired Ducote as its head football coach for the 1924 season.^[5][17] In the opener, Bo McMillin's Centenary routed Loyola, 51–0. Later in the year, the Wolves held Oglethorpe, the eventual Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions, to a 13–13 tie. Loyola finished the season with a 3–4–2 record.^[18] Before the 1925 season, SIAA officials ruled several Loyola players ineligible to compete, including 14 first-string players. After losing four of their first five games, Loyola left the SIAA and put the previously disallowed players back into action. The Wolves finished with a 2–7 record.^[19]

On January 9, 1926, he played as a member of the Southern All-Stars, which lost an exhibition game, 14–0, to the Red Grange-led Chicago Bears.^[20] In the late 1920s, Ducote was the vice president and general manager of the Nu-Way Cleansing Service.^[21]

In December 1932, Spring Hill College rehired Ducote as its head football coach.^[22] He resigned on June 1, 1935.^[23] From 1929 to 1934, he worked as a football official in the Southern Conference and Southeastern Conference, including as a linesman,^[24][25] umpire,^[26] and referee.^[27][28] Ducote helped officiate the 1935 Rose Bowl as the field judge.^[29]

The Loyola University of New Orleans rehired Ducote as an assistant football and basketball coach in March 1935.^[5] He rejoined the football staff as the backfield coach.^[30] Ducote also served as Loyola's athletic director, a role he from August 1936 until his death.^[7][31] On September 2, 1935, he was elected chairman of the Southern Football Officials' Association.^[32]

In March 1937, he was hospitalized in New Orleans for several weeks with high blood pressure and was considered to be in critical condition.^[31] He died in the hospital on March 26, 1937 at the age of 39.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Moon Ducote Minor League Statistics & History, Baseball Reference, retrieved June 12, 2011.
2. ^ SINGTON PRAISED HIGHLY; Shaughnessy Places Alabama Tackle on All-Time, All-Southern Gridiron Eleven, The Los Angeles Times, Aug 9, 1931.
3. ^ 2007 Auburn Football Media Guide, p. 156, Auburn University, 2007.
4. ^ 2007 Auburn Football Media Guide, p. 180.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Moon Ducote Chosen As Coach At Loyola, The Tuscaloosa News, March 10, 1935.
6. ^ ^{a b} Auburn and Alabama Flirt With Renewed Relationship, The Miami News, December 25, 1928.
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Loyola Director, Dick Ducote, Dies, The Milwaukee Journal, March 26, 1937.
8. ^ Gridiron Gasps, The Tuscaloosa News, January 10, 1933.
9. ^ PROUD PANTHERS TASTE STING OF DEFEAT; Mighty Panthers Bow Tb Harlan, Ducote & Co. Cleveland Naval Reserves Win, 10 to 9, Before Record Crowd--Former Georgia Tech and Auburn Players Stars., The Atlanta Constitution, Dec 1, 1918.
10. ^ Moon Ducote, Database Football, retrieved June 12, 2011.
11. ^ Two Contracts In, Herald-Journal, January 18, 1926.
12. ^ DUCOTE TO COACH SPRING HILL COLLEGE, The Atlanta Constitution, Dec 29, 1918.
13. ^ DUCOTE REAPPOINTED SPRING HILL COACH, The Atlanta Constitution, Dec 18, 1920.
14. ^ HILLIANS TO PLAY TULANE, The Atlanta Constitution, Oct 13, 1922.
15. ^ 2007–2008 LSU Basketball Media Guide, p. 147, Louisiana State University, 2007.
16. ^ 2006 LSU Baseball Official Yearbook, p. 155, Louisiana State University, 2006.
17. ^ The Wolf, p. 112, Loyola University of New Orleans, 1924.
18. ^ The Wolf, pp. 119–122, Loyola University of New Orleans, 1925.
19. ^ The Wolf, pp. 108–110, Loyola University of New Orleans, 1926.
20. ^ Grange & Co. Score Twice To Beat All-Star Foes, The Milwaukee Sentinel, January 10, 1926.
21. ^ The Wolf, p. 214, Loyola University of New Orleans, 1927.
22. ^ DUCOTE IS SPRINGHILL COACH, The Christian Science Monitor, December 22, 1932.
23. ^ Moon Ducote Resigns, The Tuscaloosa News, January 22, 1935.
24. ^ Georgia Downs Tide In Great Game, 12-0, The Atlanta Constitution, Nov 29, 1929.
25. ^ LOYOLA'S ELEVEN BEATS DETROIT, 9-6; Touchdown and Added Point in First Period Start New Orleans Team to Victory. VISITORS GET LATE TALLY March 84 Yards for Counter Near End of Game--Safety Completes Winner's Total, The New York Times, December 7, 1930.
26. ^ Other 18 -- No Title, Daily Boston Globe, Nov 29, 1931.
27. ^ Georgia Tech, Georgia Wage Scoreless Tie, Reading Eagle, November 27, 1932.
28. ^ TENNESSEE IS SET FOR L.S.U. INVASION; Major Neyland's Last Eleven in Form After Workout in Flurry of Snow. TEAMS EVENLY MATCHED Louisiana State Is Eager to Atone for Defeat Received at Hands of Tulane., The New York Times, December 8, 1934.
29. ^ Ducote To "Help "Work" Rose Bowl Game January 1st, Times Daily, December 24, 1934.
30. ^ Howell to Coach Backfield, Herald-Journal, August 24, 1936.
31. ^ ^{a b} Ducote Critically Ill, The Tuscaloosa News, March 23, 1937.
32. ^ Officials Pick Ducote, The News and Courier, September 2, 1935.

External links

• Baseball playing statistics

Persondata
Name	Ducote, Moon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 28, 1897
Place of birth	Cottonport, Louisiana
Date of death	March 26, 1937
Place of death	New Orleans, Louisiana