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In the collection is a wire photo of rookie Joe Moeller smiling as he holds the game ball from his first MLB victory on April 23, 1962. The youngest starting pitcher in the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Moeller went the distance in Milwaukee against Hank Aaron and the Braves. Only 7,656 were in attendance that night to see the ball game; the Braves would leave Milwaukee for Atlanta in 1966.

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Gentleman Joe Moeller writes, “I was only 19 when the picture of me holding the game ball was taken. It was my first big league win in Milwaukee against the Braves. I went the distance holding Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, and Joe Adcock to one hit in nine at bats. Roy McMillian had their only RBI. For us Duke (Snider) scored twice and drove in one. That was more than enough that day.”

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Joe Moeller was part of the 1966 National League Champion Dodger team that went on a good will tour of Japan after losing the World Series to the Orioles. The Dodgers players were given luggage tags with their uniform numbers displayed prominently. In the collection is the tag issued to Moeller for this historic trip.

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Commissioner Ford Frick wrote this letter in 1960 policing the Dodgers on their policy after first signing players to pro contracts. Each team had a limit of the number of players for their system. The Dodgers found a way to enhance this limit by signing youngsters and having them immediately play in a rookie team. These players would not yet count toward their franchise limit of minor league players. Frick writes that this practice would no longer be acceptable. “…if these players signed to contracts are free to play on a rookie team, they are likewise free to play on a regular minor league where they would count in your player limits…” Among the players specifically mentioned by Frick is Joe Moeller, the youngest starting pitcher in the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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In the second page of the letter Ford Frick asks Fresco Thompson about their handling of a recently-signed prospect from Texas. The final paragraph speaks of rules specific to the California High School authorities. Frick has signed his name at the bottom of this second page of the letter dated July 26, 1960.

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When former Dodger pitcher Joe Moeller looked through the collection he stumbled across this note from Brooks Robinson about his greatest thrill. Robinson writes, “My most exciting moment in baseball was the 1966 World Series. It was my first, a dream come true. Sincerely, Brooks Robinson”.

Moeller remembered facing Robinson in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium. After some arm twisting, the good-natured Moeller added this to the bottom of Robinson’s note, “Jim, Brooks may be in the Hall of Fame, but when he faced me in that series, he grounded out to Gilliam. Tell him I said so! Sincerely, Joe Moeller”.

One of the nicest men in baseball, Moeller is still in the game as the advance scout for the Marlins, more than 50 years after his debut as the youngest starting pitcher in Los Angeles Dodger history.

 

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A heady 21-year old Joe Moeller started the game against the Philadelphia Phillies, owner of the best record in baseball. Facing future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning, Moeller was unfazed, scattering three hits over six innings. Manager Walt Alston came out to get Moeller and decided on Sandy Koufax as the reliever. Koufax, who pitched a complete game just three days earlier  held the Phillies scoreless the final three innings to pick up his seventh career save. Both pitchers have signed the photo commemorating that day.

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Moeller took the hill on May 24, 1964 to square off against Jim Bunning and the Phillies, at that point owners of the best record in the National League. The youngest Los Angeles Dodger starting pitcher at 19 just two years earlier, Moeller was outstanding, scattering three hits over six innings. Sandy Koufax came on in relief and preserved the shutout.

Moeller writes, “It was great to have the greatest pitcher I ever saw relieve me and get the save. Both Bunning and Sandy are in the Hall of Fame, but I got the win that day.”

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Jeff Torborg was Joe Moeller’s teammate for seven of Joe’s eight big league seasons. They were also roommates on the road. Here Torborg provides his own recollections of the game in which Moeller and Sandy Koufax combined for a shutout. “John Roseboro caught the game. I was in my first big-league season and paying close attention to how he handled the two pitchers. Joe was 20 at the time. He started the game and pitched six strong innings before our skipper Walt Alston lifted him. Sandy came in to relieve him and pitched three innings to complete the shutout and get the save…”

 

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In a letter dated November 25, 1969, Dodger general manager Al Campanis scolds veteran Joe Moeller in a round of contract negotiation. Campanis writes, “Enclosed please find a clipping which is self-explanatory. 1. It is not courteous to strike somebody through newspapers. 2. It is not ethical to negotiate through newspapers.” Moeller would maintain his allegiance to the only Major League team he had ever known, playing for the Dodgers through the 1971 season.

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The Major League Baseball Players Association sent out questionnaires like this one to its players to determine what endorsements each man had. Today’s players compliment their baseball salary with off field endorsement but that wasn’t always the case. This document filled out by Joe Moeller on July 21, 1970 shows him with a Spalding Sporting Goods endorsement.

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Shown here is the closeup of Joe Moeller’s signature at the bottom of the 1970 MLBPA endorsement questionnaire. Directly under his signature, Moeller has penned “LA Dodgers”, the team he player for not only in 1970, but for the entirety of his 8-year career.

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Joe Moeller pitched for the Dodgers from 1962-1971. In the collection is his final Major League contract dated February 1, 1971 that calls for a salary of $24,000. Moeller won 105 games in his 13-year career in professional baseball. All eight of his big league seasons were in Los Angeles for whom he won 26 games.

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In addition to the player’s signature is that of Dodger general manager Al Campanis and National League president Chub Feeney. Campanis served as GM from 1968 through 1987; Fenney was the top NL executive from 1970 through 1986. Joe remained in the game as a member of the Dodgers’ speaker’s bureau and later as advance scout for the Montreal Expos and the Florida Marlins.

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After retiring as a player, Joe Moeller continued to work in baseball. When Jeff Torborg got the manager’s job in Montreal in 2001, he called his former Dodger teammate and road roommate Joe Moeller asking if he’d serve as advance scout. In that capacity, Moeller stayed one step ahead of the Expos, scouting there next opponent. In this letter, Moeller writes about Mark McGwire’s pursuit of Roger Maris’ home run record and of Big Mac’s Hall of Fame prospects.

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When Joe Moeller was hired as the Expos advance scout before the 2001 season, he likely could not envision the job lasting so long. When Major League Baseball intervened and gave owner Jeffrey Loria the Marlins in exchange for the Expos franchise, Joe was one of the front office men who kept his job. Moeller has survived nine managerial changes since his hiring.

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The youngest starting pitcher in Los Angeles Dodger history, Joe Moeller took the hill as a fresh-faced 19-year old in 1962. After a 13-year professional playing career that included pitching in the 1966 World Series, Joe Moeller stayed close to the game. In the collection is a letter written by Moeller as the advance scout for the Florida Marlins. In it he praises Cal Ripken, Mark McGwire, and eight-time batting champ Tony Gwynn.

Moeller writes, “Cal generated so much interest when he broke Lou Gehrig’s streak in 1995. The whole country cheered for him. Three years later it was Big Mac’s turn when he hit 70 homeruns. Tony didn’t have that kind of singular memorable moment, but his quiet class during his 20 years with the Padres was equally impressive.”

Moeller’s witnessed some of the game’s greatest players up close during a career in baseball that spanned six decades.

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Outstanding content from a man who was there: Joe Moeller was 21-years old when Sandy Koufax pitched the second of his four no-hitters on June 4, 1964. After the game, Koufax was interviewed at length about his gem and was the last to get on the bus, taking a seat next to Moeller. Here Moeller writes in vivid detail of Koufax’s disappointment in the game and calls Koufax, “one of the most intelligent, articulate, and humble players I ever met.”