Voted “Best Athlete” by his graduating classmates
Larry Moran, Jr. (AHS 1949-1952) was one of the best and most versatile athletes of all time at AHS. He played and lettered in football, baseball and basketball.
AHS football records indicate that from 1904 to 1988 Larry was sixth overall all-time highest scorer of touchdowns with 23, and he was eighth overall in points scored with 138. He played the quarterback and left halfback offensive positions. He was the “field general” and was a triple threat. He was a prolific passer, many of which resulted in touchdowns. He ran for many TD’s and was a superb defensive player with many interceptions and tackles from his defensive halfback position. In 1949 Larry was chosen for the North Shore All Star Team. In 1951 he was selected to the Boston Globe All-Star Team and the Daily News Northeast Conference All-Star First Team.
The AHS 1951 football team won the Massachusetts Class C State Championship with a win against favored St. John’s of Worcester 34 – 7, in a game that saw Larry Moran, Jr. score 2 touchdowns. The newspaper quote read, “Moran ran and passed beautifully.” One of the officials on the field was the well-known and respected George Pappas of Lynn. He said that on the basis of the Indians’ performance in that game, he doubted if any high school in the state could have beaten Amesbury on that day. He went on to say that Larry Moran, Jr. was “not far behind Harry Agganis,” -aka- “The Golden Greek”, who in 1952 was recognized as New England’s most outstanding collegiate football player.
In baseball, Larry was a Northeast Conference All-Star all four years at AHS and team captain his junior and senior years. He played his defensive shortstop and second base positions flawlessly. In 1950 his batting average was .386 and his career average was .376.
Larry also played and lettered in basketball for two years. He was voted as “Best Athlete” by his 1952 AHS graduating classmates.
Larry is quoted as saying, “Coach Tassinari worked us so hard in practice that it was a pleasure to play the game on Saturday afternoons, and I might say that the games were easier than our hard practices !! We all thought the world of Coach Tassinari for being a super coach as well as a father figure. We all played as a TEAM, which again, is a salute to Coach Tassinari and his staff including Ralph Klein, Sandy Roy and Frank Kozacka.”
Larry Moran, Jr. is in the record books as one of the “All Time Great” athletes at Amesbury High School.
Congratulations to inductee Larry Moran Jr., Class of 1952.
