Merry, Merry Christmas to All

    This week, Tom Kieffer, an Ogden buddy, wrote, "Thanks for being a long time friend. Have a great holiday season."
     Then there was Vern Modeland of the Korner language police who caught me with a no-no........."their"  rather than "there". Thanks Vern. I suppose I could say that we hadn't heard from you for such a long time the Kornerman purposely did that to see if you were still kickin' down THERE in the Ozarks. Glad to know you're O.K., even though you claim to be "weary and old."
     Another Ann Onymous appeared this week. The envelope featured the color red and huge letters addressed to Mo and Jo. The card inside was also a predominant red and, "keep up the good job you do, keeping us informed. Warm wishes and thoughts of good cheer for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." Many thanks to whomever you are.
K-----K
     The Kornerman, in the last issue, talked about all the information available on our Boonetown via  Google. Among that info we noticed a listing of some notable Booneites and one of the names we noticed was that of Francis Dale "Hap" Moran.
     It's somewhat ironic that, very recently, a younger friend of mine was perusing the internet and, somehow, came across the history of Moran and was "blown away" by that information.
     He questioned this oldtimer, "did you know about this guy" to which I replied that I  did. A good Toreador athlete himself and an interesting observer of Boone Iowa athletics, he was shocked that he was completely unaware. He wrote, "I wonder if he has any direct descendants in town. There should be a statue of him with a plaque in front of Goeppinger Field. I wonder why he was never mentioned when I was in high school. At that time, the history of Boone football wasn't mentioned much prior to Coach Fisher's teams in the 1930's."
     The Kornerman says that Hap Moran was certainly one of the greatest all-around athletes this community has ever observed so let me inform you of some of his feats:
     He was an all-stater and Captain of the state championship Toreador basketball team of 1920, a team that was invited to play in Chicago, representing Iowa, in a tournament that featured state title teams from other states. His play there earned him All-American high school honors.
     As if his basketball exploits weren't enough, it was football where he really made his mark. He was recruited, via a basketball scholarship, to Carnegie Tech. In football there, he played on a team that played a couple times against the fabled Knute Rockne Notre Dame Four Horsemen team.
     After one year at Carnegie, Moran returned to Iowa to finish his collegiate career at Grinnell College where he excelled in both football and basketball. As a football passer there, his favorite receiver was Morgan Taylor, who won the first Gold Medal for the United States in the 1924 Olympics in Paris as a 400-meter hurdler.
     In 1926-27, Moran joined the Frankford Yellow Jackets. His team won the NFL championship and he was the second highest scorer on the team.
     Due to his kicking skills, Moran was recruited in 1927 by the NFL Chicago Cardinals. He finished second in the league in field goals and was ninth in points after touchdowns.
     After one year in Chicago, he played for the Pottsville Maroons one year and then finished his NFL career with five years, 1928-33, with the New York Giants.
     With the Giants, he set an NFL record for the longest run from scrimmage, 91 yards, against the Green Bay Packers in 1930 and a record 114 receiving yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in 1933. 
     That 91 yard run record, which was also a N.Y. Giants club record, stood for 75 years before it was broken by Tiki Barber of the Giants in 2005.
     After his playing career ended, he did some coaching but eventually became a buyer for Western Electric, living in Sunnyside Queens, New York.
     He was a 6-1, 190-pound athlete who was born in 1901 and passed away in 1994.
     AND, he was a Boone, Iowa Toreador.
K-----K
     Boone Area Deaths: Jim Duff, 74, Boone. Assistant Manager at Yegge Lumber, worked for the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad. Boone area survivor is his wife, Jeanette of Boone............Gerald Browning, 81, Boone. Farmed, then owned and operated Browning Janitorial Service. Boone area survivors include his wife, Arlene, and son, Rick, both of Boone...........James Weedman, 73, Boone. Had a long career with the Chicago, Northwestern Railway. Boone survivor is his wife, Janice.........Elsie Schuett, 79, Boone............Joanne Baldus, 88, Story City. Born in Boone. Boone area survivor is her brother, Tom Matt of Boone..........Roy "Bill" Crouch, 82, Boxholm. Pilot Mound High-50. Operated service stations in Boxholm and Pilot Mound and convenience stores in the area. Spent over 44 years in the gas station business. Boone Area survivors include his wife, Doris, of Boxholm, son, Robin, of Pilot Mound and brother, Deskin "Deck" Crouch of Pilot Mound..........Adeline Eslick, 92, Dayton. She and her husband farmed in the Dayton area for 37 years before moving to town. Boone area survivors include sons Roger and Richard of Dayton and daughter, Martha Heineman of Ogden............Larry Hansen, 69, Dayton. Moved to Dayton in 1968 as a band and music instructor, although he performed many other teaching duties through the years. An excellent musician himself, he played trumpet with the Fort Dodge Symphony and the Ames Municipal Band as well as with many smaller groups. Boone area survivors include his wife, Linda, of Dayton and two daughters.
K-----K
     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments/support........
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.