Aug. 19, 1961: Jerry Doggett, left, Wally Moon and Vin Scully.

Wally Moon's home run made the difference in the Dodgers' 9-6 victory over the Phillies.

Moon became known for the home run during his years in Los Angeles.
He was acquired to give the lineup some left-handed power and moving
the fences in part of the Coliseum was seen as a boost for Moon and
Duke Snider. But he became famous in L.A. for his "Moon shots' over the
left-field screen.

He also had a reputation as a scholar of sorts. The Times' Jeane
Hoffman profiled Moon a couple days after the home run, stressing his
educational background. Moon held a master's degree in administrative
education from Texas A&M. Probably wasn't a lot of players with
master's degrees in 1959–wonder how many there are today.

"I look upon an education as an end to itself; it's a sort of
insurance policy against the day when I don't get to round third as
often or see that curve coming," Moon said. "Baseball life doesn't last
long. Then I can go back to teaching and not have to worry about where
my next decimal point is coming from!"

Moon hit .302 for the Dodgers in 1959, with 19 home runs and 11 triples.

–Keith Thursby