Bill Moran was true pioneer in kid sports

Thank you for remembering Bill Moran. Because of his efforts, the wonderful park districts that serve our suburban region today are a reality.

I met "Mr. Moran" well before there was a water park named in his honor in Lombard. It was about 1958, and I was 10 years old. Every Saturday morning my buddies and I would race to Lincoln School for what, I now know, was pretty much the earliest stages of park district activity in the suburbs.

We just loved playing basketball - an indoor court or outside on the playground - it didn't really matter. And, Bill Moran made it possible. It was a nice bland of kids from the public school and the Catholic school that gathered Saturday mornings at Lincoln School.

Bill Moran would line us up to "count off" to form teams, which was the first time that I learned that my best buddies weren't always going to be on my team. There were no uniforms. No score board. Not even referees, or coaches. Just Bill Moran at midcourt with a whistle. That was all that we needed in those days.

He coached and refereed two half-court games simultaneously, from midcourt, for about three hours. It was nothing too fancy in those days, but truly the initial stages of the wonderful park district programs that have added so much to our communities.

To "Mr. Moran" and to all those who followed his lead: Thanks, we remember.

Tom Ahern

Arlington Heights