Moon Mullen

Background

Mullen was born in Olympia, Washington.

Education

Mullen attended the University of Oregon, where he played baseball and basketball.

Career

Listed at 5" 9", 165 pounds, Mullen batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He received the nickname "Moon" after the popular comic strip character "Moon Mullins". He was a reserve guard on the 1938-1939 Oregon Ducks men"s basketball team coached by Howard Hobson, and winners of the first ever National Collegiate Athletic Association Men"s Division I Basketball Tournament.

On the baseball team (also coached by Hobson), he played third base, catcher, and second base.

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 Reserve Bank of India, including nine doubles, four triples, four stolen bases, and a.315 on-base percentage with no home runs. 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 World War World War II He served several years, then attended spring training with the Phillies but did not make the team

He played several years in the Pacific Coast League, for teams like the Seattle Rainiers and the Portland Beavers. He then managed the 1950 Boise Pilots of the Pioneer League.

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.

He died in Stanwood, Washington on February 28, 2013. He had suffered a stroke two weeks prior to his death.

Achievements

• He attended the University of Oregon, where he played baseball and basketball, and was a member of the basketball team that won the first National Collegiate Athletic Association men"s basketball championship.

Membership

At the age of 96 he was the last surviving member of the Ducks" 1939 National Collegiate Athletic Association team and was one of the oldest living major league ballplayers.