Joseph A. Moran, former president of the Golf Association of Philadelphia (1981-83), died Oct. 11 at the age of 91.
Moran, of West Chester, Pa., served on the organization’s Executive Committee from 1978-84. During that time, the Association constructed its first freestanding headquarters and relocated to King of Prussia, Pa., conducted a course measuring and rating project and instituted a touchtone telephone entry system for score posting. Participating Member Clubs received 16 handicap revisions on a biweekly basis as part of their GAP membership. The Association also first explored the notion of daily fee courses becoming eligible for membership during Moran’s presidency.
“Joe Moran served the Golf Association of Philadelphia during an important term of its growth,” Mark Peterson, the Association’s Executive Director, said. “He was an amazing man and leader in the Philadelphia golf community. He was always willing to give back to the game, to the Association or to Overbrook Golf Club.”
“He was very levelheaded and he did a great job,” J. Fred Christman, former GAP Director of Competitions, added. “Joe was a lot of fun.”
Moran, an Overbrook member since 1960, served as the club’s president from 1986-88. He represented the club in the BMW GAP Team Matches for nearly 40 years. Moran also represented GAP in the 1962 Mason-Dixon Matches. Other accomplishments an Overbrook men’s championship title in 1976 and six Philadelphia Team Championship trophies during the 1980s.
“The Golf Association of Philadelphia meant a lot to him,” Moran’s son Mike, 62, of Haverford, Pa., said. “Number one, he made a lot of good friends through GAP. Victor Mauck, Jr., Bill Walsh, Stan Friedman, Joe Harbison come to mind. He devoted a lot of time to the Golf Association of Philadelphia. He did a lot that he was very proud of. There’s a picture that exemplifies his pride for the Golf Association of Philadelphia. It’s of my dad with Jay Sigel, Dorothy Porter, Bill Hyndman and William Campbell. He had that picture placed prominently in his study at home.”
“He was a very classy gentleman in the purest sense of the word,” Oscar Mestre, a longtime Overbrook member and the Association’s Vice President, said. “For Overbrook and me personally, he was a tremendous mentor. He was my first partner in the Team Matches. We shared tremendous times competitively and socially together. He was a great friend to all around here.”
Overbrook honored Moran with a framed photograph in the men’s locker room, recognizing his contributions at the club level. His influence was widespread.
“I can tell you that he was instrumental in my desire to be involved. I felt a certain calling,” Mestre, 58, of Berwyn, Pa., said. “Other Overbrook members served on the Executive Committee, but I must admit that when the opportunity came to go through the chairs and potentially become the next president, I was very cognizant of the fact that I would be following Joe Moran as the only other Overbrook member to be president of the Association. It’s a responsibility you take seriously.”
Moran’s interest in golf stemmed from his days caddying at Merion Golf Club. He played collegiately at Villanova University and later became the school’s golf coach (1992-2008) along with his brother Jake. Furthermore, the two bought a lumberyard in the Germantown section of Philadelphia in the late 1950s. Joseph sold that lumberyard a few years later but remained in the lumber business, mostly in Wilmington, Del. and Philadelphia, Pa., for 60 years.
Joseph was the husband of 63 years to Patricia M. (nee Kirley) Moran. He is survived by his children, Joseph A., III of Devon, Pa., Mike, Elizabeth M. Cashan of Moorestown, N.J., Sarah M. Parris of Fairfax, Va., Matthew J. of Glen Head, N.Y. and Patrick K. of Locust Valley, N.Y. and preceded by his son Edward J. Moran. Moran is survived by 18 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Golf Association of Philadelphia
Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 260 Full Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across Eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
