Legion Baseball acknowledges one of its founders with Hall of Fame induction

By Tim Engstrom
Doug Taube/Farmington Post 189 From left are Farmington American Legion Baseball Coach Kevin Conrad, Farmington Post 189 Commander Jeremy Plaster and Church of St. Michael Father Nicholas Froehle. They participated in the induction of Father David Moran into the Minnesota American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame on Sept. 29 at the Parish Fall Festival. The Div. I State Tournament Sportsmanship Award, which Conrad is holding, is named for Moran.
Father David Moran’s grave at the Church of St. Michael Cemetery in Farmington.

FARMINGTON — Father David Moran was the very first baseball director from the 3rd District.

Baseball directors also serve on the Minnesota American Legion Baseball Committee. He was instrumental in establishing Legion Baseball across the 3rd District and the state of Minnesota. Today, the Div. 1 State Tournament’s sportsmanship trophy is named for Father Moran.

Just two years ago, Farmington Post 189’s team won the Father Moran Sportsmanship Trophy. This year, Farmington Post 189 Tigers won the Div. 1 state championship. They went on to represent Minnesota in the regional tournament in West Fargo.

Most folks might not realize this, but Minnesota American Legion Baseball has been around since 1923, and its postseason tournament started in 1926. The Minnesota State High School League’s state baseball tournament didn’t begin until 1947. American Legion Baseball is the world’s oldest youth baseball program, thanks to people like Father Moran.

Moran’s grave has an American Legion emblem carved into the stone. He was born Feb. 4, 1881, and died March 9, 1944. The tomb says, “Pastor, Humanitarian, Legionnaire” and it says, “Dedicated to his memory by the Legionnaires of the State of Minnesota.” He was the priest for Church of St. Michael, and he was revered — so much so that the cross that was atop St. Michael’s old church at Fifth and Walnut streets from 1903 to 2002 now adorns his grave in St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery (see photo).

Moran wasn’t just about baseball. He was instrumental in the early American Legion, attending conventions around Minnesota. Following the Austin Convention in 1929, newspaper Austin Herald wrote an article about the election of the state commander. It says, “Father David Moran, a Catholic, nominated Stafford King, a Mason of high degree, for department commander.” The story says there were two other candidates and noted how nominees and nominator backgrounds didn’t seem to matter. The implication of the newspaper story was that the Legion was about being veterans, regardless of differences. Father Moran clearly liked that about The American Legion. Stafford King went on to win the election. (King had been a past state adjutant and former post commander at Deer River Post 122 and at St. Paul Post 8.)

The plaque given to the Church of St. Michael will be hung inside the structure. The church is at 22120 Denmark Ave., Farmington.

Farmington Post 189 began on Sept. 22, 1919, and elected its first officers in 1920. Though Moran was active in the Legion across the district and state, he didn’t take an office at the post level until 1931. Moran served as service officer from 1931 to his death in 1944. The post service officer’s job is to provide expert assistance free of charge to veterans and their families, often linking them to where they can find help with their situation. I am certain he helped many veterans in the Farmington area.

For his service to American Legion Baseball and to The American Legion, the Minnesota Baseball Committee voted in 2022 to induct him into the Hall of Fame in 2023, but the ceremony was postponed to fall 2024.

Farmington Post 189 Commander Jeremy Plaster, Past Commander Douglas Taube and coach Kevin Conrad, along with the entire staff and congregation of the Church of St. Michael, deserve credit for their roles in making this honor happen.

The list of Hall of Fame inductees is printed near the back of the Minnesota American Legion Rulebook each year. The rulebook is downloadable as a PDF at minnesotalegionbaseball.com or can be viewed on the mobile app “Minnesota Legion Baseball.”