| Moon Ducote | |
|---|---|
Ducote at Loyola in 1924 |
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| Sport(s) | Football, baseball, basketball |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | August 28, 1897 Cottonport, Louisiana |
| Died | March 26, 1937 (aged 39) New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Playing career | |
| 1915–1917 1918 1919–1921 1920 1923 1925–1926 |
Auburn Cleveland Naval Reserve Mobile Bears Cleveland Tigers Portsmouth Truckers Charlotte Hornets |
| Position(s) | Fullback, end, guard Outfielder |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football 1919 1921–1922 1924–1925 1933–1934 1935 Baseball 1924 Basketball 1923–1924 1935–1936 |
Spring Hill Spring Hill Loyola (LA) Spring Hill Loyola (LA) (backs) Louisiana State Louisiana State Loyola (LA) (asst.) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1936–1937 | Loyola (LA) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 5–11–2 (football) 4–9 (baseball) |
Richard Joseph "Moon" Ducote (August 28, 1897 – March 26, 1937) was an American baseball, football, and basketball coach, football and baseball player, football official, and businessman. He served as the head football coach at Loyola University of New Orleans from 1924 to 1925 and at Spring Hill College for five non-consecutive years between 1919 and 1934. Ducote was the head baseball and basketball coach at Louisiana State University in 1924. He played minor league baseball with the Mobile Bears, Portsmouth Truckers, and Charlotte Hornets. In 1920, he played with the Cleveland Tigers of the American Professional Football Association.
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Ducote was born in Cottonport, Louisiana on August 28, 1897.[1] Later a resident of Mobile, Alabama, Ducote attended Auburn University, where he played on the football team under Mike Donahue, primarily as a fullback, but also as a guard and end from 1916 to 1917.[2][3] He was named to the All-Southern Conference team as an end in 1916 and as a fullback in 1917.[4] At Auburn, he was known for his skill at drop kicking.[5] In the 1917 game against Georgia,[6] Ducote kicked a 40-yard field goal off of his football helmet in the mud, which proved the only points in the 3–0 Auburn victory.[6][7] The maneuver prompted a rule that stated the ball must be kicked directly off the ground.[7] In 1933, Mike Donahue and Dr. John O. Rush published their choice for the "All-Time Auburn Football Team" in the Mobile Press-Register, which named Ducote as the fullback. Donahue noted that Ducote was "undoubtedly the best ever" according to The Tuscaloosa News.[8]
In 1918, he played on the Cleveland Naval Reserve football team.[9] In 1920, he played in one game for the Cleveland Tigers in the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League).[10] From 1919 to 1921, he played minor league baseball with the Mobile Bears in the Southern Association.[1] In 1923, he played for the Portsmouth Truckers of the Virginia League, and from 1925 to 1926, he played for the Charlotte Hornets of the South Atlantic League.[1] During this time, he would spend the winters in New Orleans, where he served as a college football coach outside of the baseball season.[11]
Spring Hill College hired Ducote as its football coach in December 1918.[12] He returned to the position for the 1921 season,[13] a post he held through 1922.[14] Ducote spent one season as head coach for the basketball and baseball teams at Louisiana State University. In basketball, he coached the Tigers to a 8–12 finish during the 1923–24 season.[15] Ducote led the LSU baseball team to a 4–9 record in 1924.[16]
The Loyola University of New Orleans hired Ducote as its head football coach for the 1924 season.[5][17] In the opener, Bo McMillin'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.[18] 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. The Wolves finished with a 2–7 record.[19]
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-led Chicago Bears.[20] In the late 1920s, Ducote was the vice president and general manager of the Nu-Way Cleansing Service.[21]
In December 1932, Spring Hill College rehired Ducote as its head football coach.[22] He resigned on June 1, 1935.[23] From 1929 to 1934, he worked as a football official in the Southern Conference and Southeastern Conference, including as a linesman,[24][25] umpire,[26] and referee.[27][28] Ducote helped officiate the 1935 Rose Bowl as the field judge.[29]
The Loyola University of New Orleans rehired Ducote as an assistant football and basketball coach in March 1935.[5] He rejoined the football staff as the backfield coach.[30] Ducote also served as Loyola's athletic director, a role he from August 1936 until his death.[7][31] On September 2, 1935, he was elected chairman of the Southern Football Officials' Association.[32]
In March 1937, he was hospitalized in New Orleans for several weeks with high blood pressure and was considered to be in critical condition.[31] He died in the hospital on March 26, 1937 at the age of 39.[7]
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