Richard Joseph "Moon" "Duke" DuCôté ( ; August 28, 1897 – March 26, 1937) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach, football and baseball player, football official, and businessman. He first attended

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

and was a notable athlete at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest ...

. He played minor league baseball with the Mobile Bears, Portsmouth Truckers, and

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

. In 1920, he played with the Cleveland Tigers of the

American Professional Football Association The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

. He served as the head football coach at Loyola University of New Orleans from 1924 to 1925 and at

for five non-consecutive years between 1919 and 1933. Ducote was the head baseball and basketball coach at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

(LSU) in 1924.

Early life

Ducote was born in

Cottonport, Louisiana Cottonport is a town in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,006 at the 2010 census. History Cottonport was founded in the early 19th century. In 1835, Joseph Jean Pierre Ducote II donated land to be used for a road a ...

on August 28, 1897. He later resided in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...

where, as a Catholic, he attended

. It is figured he was known as "Moon" due to his large head.

Auburn

Ducote attended

, where he played on the Tigers football team under

Mike Donahue Michael Joseph "Iron Mike" Donahue (June 14, 1876 – December 11, 1960) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, soccer, and golf, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head fo ...

from

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". * January ...

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

, primarily in the

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the ...

as a fullback or halfback due to his skill at drop kicking, but also as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

. Ducote stood and weighed . He was named to the All-Southern team in both

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

and 1917, and was nominated for an ''Associated Press'' All-Time Southeast 1869-1919 era team. In 1933,

and Dr. John O. Rush published their choice for the "All-Time Auburn Football Team" in the ''

Mobile Press-Register The ''Press-Register'' (known from 1997 to 2006 as the ''Mobile Register'') is a thrice-weekly newspaper serving the southwest Alabama counties of Mobile and Baldwin. The newspaper is a descendant of one founded in 1813, making the ''Press-Regi ...

'', which named Ducote as the fullback. Donahue noted that Ducote was "undoubtedly the best ever" according to ''

The Tuscaloosa News The '' Tuscaloosa News '' is a daily newspaper serving Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and the surrounding area in west central Alabama. In 2012, Halifax Media Group acquired the ''Tuscaloosa News''. Prior to that, the paper's owner was T ...

''. In the 1916 game against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

,Auburn and Alabama Flirt With Renewed Relationship
''The Miami News'', December 25, 1928. Ducote kicked a 40-yard field goal from placement off of captain Lucy Hairston's

football helmet The football helmet is a piece of protective equipment used mainly in gridiron football, although a structural variation has occasional use in Australian rules football. It consists of a hard plastic shell with thick padding on the inside, a ...

in the fourth quarter and in the mud, which proved the only points in the 3–0 Auburn victory. The maneuver prompted a rule that stated the ball must be kicked directly off the ground. Parke H. Davis described it thus:

Ducote falls back to try for a goal from the field. Hairston removes his leather helmet and places it upon the ground. He creases the top of the helmet and sights it for the goal. Spectators curiously watch the proceedings. Suddenly, the ball is passed. Hairston receives it, places it on the helmet, which all suddenly see it is to serve as a mechanical tee. Ducote leaps forward, kicks the ball from the top of the helmet and drives it straight as an arrow for Georgia's crossbar, over which it sails evenly between the posts."

The 1917 team held undefeated

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

champion

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

to a scoreless tie, but ran into a juggernaut in

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, the South's first national champion, losing 68–7. Auburn's only points came when Ducote circled around end for 17 yards and lateraled to William Donahue, who ran down the sideline for a six-yard touchdown. Earlier in the game, Ducote broke through the line toward the goal, with blocking from Pete Bonner and Donahue. After Tech's

Joe Guyon Joseph Napoleon "Big Chief" Guyon (Anishinaabe: ''O-Gee-Chidah'', translated as "Big Brave"; November 26, 1892 – November 27, 1971) was an American Indian from the Ojibwa tribe (Chippewa) who was an American football and baseball player and co ...

dove at Ducote and missed, Guyon gave chase and tackled him from behind at the 26-yard line.

Cleveland Naval Reserves

Due to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Ducote played on the 1918 Cleveland Naval Reserve football team alongside

fullback Judy Harlan, which upset national champion

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

by a 10–9 score. Ducote kicked the winning 41-yard field goal. Pittsburgh coach

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

refused to acknowledge the loss, but declared Ducote "the greatest football player I ever saw".

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...

selected him second-team All-Service. He was supposed to return to Auburn in 1919, but played baseball instead.

Professional playing career

In 1920, Ducote played in one game for the Cleveland Tigers in the

(later renamed the National Football League).Moon Ducote
, Database Football, retrieved June 12, 2011. From 1919 to 1921, he played minor league baseball with the Mobile Bears in the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

.Moon Ducote Minor League Statistics & History
Baseball Reference, retrieved June 12, 2011. In 1923, he played for the Portsmouth Truckers of the

Virginia League The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928. The most famous alumni to c ...

, and from 1925 to 1926, he played for the

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. During this time, he would spend the winters in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, where he served as a college football coach outside of the baseball season. 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 Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

-led Chicago Bears.

Coaching career

Spring Hill

hired Ducote as its football coach in December 1918. He coached the 1919 team before playing professionally in Cleveland. He returned to the position for the 1921 season, a post he held through

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

Rehired

In December 1932, Spring Hill College rehired Ducote as its head football coach. He resigned on June 1, 1935. Moon Ducote

LSU

Ducote spent one season at

as head coach for the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and baseball teams. In basketball, he coached the Tigers to an 8–12 finish during the 1923–24 season. Ducote led the LSU baseball team to a 4–9 record in 1924.

Loyola

The Loyola University of New Orleans hired Ducote as its head football coach for the 1924 season.Moon Ducote Chosen As Coach At Loyola
''The Tuscaloosa News'', March 10, 1935. In the opener,

Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-tim ...

'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. 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, finishing with a 2–7 record.

Rehired

Loyola rehired Ducote as an assistant football and head basketball coach in March 1935. He rejoined the football staff as the

coach. Ducote was also Loyola's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

, serving from August 1936 until his death seven months later.Ducote Critically Ill
''The Tuscaloosa News'', March 23, 1937.

Business

In the late 1920s, Ducote was the vice president and general manager of the Nu-Way Cleansing Service.

Officiating

From 1929 to 1934, Ducote worked as a football official in the Southern Conference and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

, including as a linesman, umpire, and referee. Ducote helped officiate the

1935 Rose Bowl The 1935 Rose Bowl was the 21st Rose Bowl game, an American post-season college football game that was played on New Year's Day 1935 in Pasadena, California. It featured the Alabama Crimson Tide against the Stanford Indians.2009 Kickoff Luncheo ...

as the field judge. On September 2, 1935, he was elected chairman of the Southern Football Officials' Association.

Later life and death

In March 1937, he was hospitalized in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

for several weeks with high blood pressure and was considered to be in critical condition. He died in the hospital on March 26, 1937, at the age of 39.Loyola Director, Dick Ducote, Dies
''The Milwaukee Journal'', March 26, 1937. He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ducote, Moon 1897 births 1937 deaths American football drop kickers American football ends American football fullbacks American football guards American football placekickers Baseball coaches from Louisiana Basketball coaches from Louisiana Centers (basketball) College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Auburn Tigers football players Cleveland Tigers (NFL) players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Loyola Wolf Pack athletic directors Loyola Wolf Pack football coaches Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball coaches LSU Tigers baseball coaches LSU Tigers basketball coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Mobile Bears players Portsmouth Truckers players Spring Hill Badgers football coaches All-Southern college football players People from Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana Sportspeople from Mobile, Alabama Baseball players from New Orleans Players of American football from New Orleans

Early life

Auburn

Cleveland Naval Reserves

Professional playing career

Coaching career

Spring Hill

Rehired

LSU

Loyola

Rehired

Business

Officiating

Later life and death

Head coaching record

Football

See also

References

External links