3. Wally Moon, 1954 National League Rookie of the Year
Wally Moon was a twelve-year veteran of the MLB, spending his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Among his many accomplishments, Moon was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1954, beating out two future hall of famers – “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks, and the man who would one day break Babe Ruth’s home run record, Hank Aaron.
He was named a National League All-Star Twice, won the Gold Glove in 1960 and played on three World Series teams with the Dodgers. Once his playing career was over Moon spent time as the owner of a minor league baseball team, and ultimately was the athletic director and baseball coach at John Brown University before settling down in Bryan to spend more time with his family.
Perhaps his biggest accomplishment – off the diamond, anyway – was graduating from Texas A&M with a Masters in Education while playing in the minor leagues. He previously got his bachelor’s degree in Physical Education in 1951, also from Texas A&M.