Francis Dale "Hap" Moran (July 31, 1901 – December 30, 1994) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

halfback who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Frankford Yellow Jackets The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets wo ...

, the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

, the

Pottsville Maroons The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Bost ...

and the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for Carnegie Tech and Grinnell.

Playing career

High school

Although he eventually made his name in football, Moran was better known in high school for basketball. He was captain of the Iowa All-State team in 1920, and his team from Boone represented Iowa at the National Interscholastic Tournament at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, where he was named a High School All-American by

Amos Alonzo Stagg Amos Alonzo Stagg (August 16, 1862 – March 17, 1965) was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfie ...

Collegiate

He was recruited by Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh primarily for basketball, but also played football. In the 1922 Carnegie– Notre Dame game, the Four Horsemen first formed up as a backfield under the coaching of

Knute Rockne Knute Kenneth Rockne (; March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was an American football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. Leading Notre Dame for 13 seasons, Rockne accumulated over 100 wins and three national championships. Rockne is ...

.''The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame'', by James A. Peterson, Hinckley & Schmitt, Chicago, 1959 Moran would also play against the Four Horsemen in their last game together in 1930, when the Notre Dame All-Stars faced the New York Giants in a charity game which raised $115,000 to benefit New York City's unemployed. In 1923 Moran returned to Iowa and played football and basketball for

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

. As a passer his favorite receiver was

Morgan Taylor Frederick Morgan Taylor (April 17, 1903 – February 16, 1975) was an American hurdling, hurdler and the first athlete to win three Olympic medals in the 400 m hurdles. He was the flag bearer for the United States at his last Olympics in 19 ...

, who won the first gold medal for the United States in the 1924 Olympics in Paris running the 400-meter hurdles.

Professional

In 1926 Moran was hired by Frankford Yellow Jackets' Coach Guy Chamberlin, and his first professional game was against Akron, led by

Fritz Pollard Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was an American professional football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard and Bobby Mar ...

, the All-American from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, one of the few black players in the NFL. Moran scored Frankford's only points of the game and earned a starting spot as halfback. Frankford won the

NFL Championship Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...

that season, and Moran was their second-highest scorer. Moran played the first part of the 1927 season with the Yellow Jackets and was then recruited by the Chicago Cardinals, primarily for his kicking skills. He was ranked second in the league for field goals and ninth for points after touchdowns that year. In 1928 he played in the backfield for the

with John McNally, better known as Johnny Blood. After New York Giants' lineman Steve Owen knocked himself unconscious trying to tackle Moran, the Giants invited him to join their team for the last game of the 1928 season. Moran stayed with the Giants for the next five seasons. In the course of his career Moran started at halfback, tailback, wingback, quarterback, blocking back, defensive back and linebacker. In 1931 he was the Giants' scoring leader.''New York Giants, 75 Years'', by Jerry Izenberg, Tehabi Books, California, 1999, p.174 When he retired from the NFL in 1933, he held the league records for the longest run from scrimmage (91 yards against the Packers on November 23, 1930)Progression of NFL Records, by Ken Pullis,

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by w ...

, 2002, p.9 and most receiving yards in a single game with 114 yards against the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

on October 15, 1933.Grid Graph, Anatomy of Two Records, by Steve Hirdt,

Elias Sports Bureau The Elias Sports Bureau is an American privately-held sports data company providing historical and current statistical information for the major professional sports leagues operating in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1913, Elias is considere ...

br>
/ref> His 91-yard run remained a Giants record for 75 years until it was broken by

Tiki Barber Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber Sr. (; born April 7, 1975) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 10-year career as a running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college fo ...

on December 31, 2005.

After NFL

After retiring from the NFL he played for the Paterson Panthers of the American Association,"ALL THOSE A.F.L.'S: N.F.L. COMPETITORS, 1935-1941"
, by Bob Braunwart, THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 1, No. 2 (1979) and coached the Panthers in 1936. After his football career, he was a buyer for

Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...

, living in Sunnyside, Queens, New York and coaching a youth football team there.

References

External links

Player Profile
at The Professional Football Researchers Association
NFL Player StatsHap Moran.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Hap 1901 births 1994 deaths American football halfbacks Carnegie Mellon Tartans football players Chicago Cardinals players Frankford Yellow Jackets players Grinnell Pioneers football players People from Belle Plaine, Iowa People from Sunnyside, Queens Players of American football from Iowa Pottsville Maroons players New York Giants players Grinnell College alumni