In 1970 Patrick Moran Sr. graduated from Roosevelt High School on the northwest side, where he had been an all-area basketball player and an all-city baseball player. He started his softball career with the Wolves, a team sponsored by a local tavern and managed by Jim Schmidt. Dwarfs Hall of Fame manager Mike McGovern quickly saw Moran’s potential and recruited him to play short stop. Over the next 25 years, Pat also played for such prestigious teams as Otto’s, the Amalgamonsters, Bud North, Coopers, Meadows, Red Dog, Stray Cats, Blues and March Manufacturing. He helped teams win five Forest Park No Glove tournaments, four Clarendon Park League Championships, two Mt. Prospect League Championships, and finish in the final four ASA Glove Nationals 15 times. Pat also had the honor of playing for such managers as Danny Coco, Bill Cavanaugh, Tim Decker, Rick Burnette, and Hall of Fame managers Dick Cooper, Waly Pecs and Sal Vasta. All along, Moran was known as one of the top defensive players of all time, both shortstop and short center, as well as a class act both on and off the field. During the same period, Pat played in the corporate league in Grant Park for ComEd, a powerhouse team that won three consecutive Tournament of Champions competitions. Pat fondly recalls the time, while playing for Bill Cavanaugh at ComEd , when Janet Davies of WLS TV Sports followed the team through to their ultimate victory in the 1993 Grant Park Tournament of Champions. He also enjoyed the once in a lifetime opportunity of accompanying his entire team to Cancun, Mexico after winning this first place prize. Par has worked for ComEd for 32 years and currently lives in Oak Park with his family.
