I told Coach Kenny Moyer that if I ever wrote about growing up and playing sports in Emmaus during the 1950s and early 1960s, I would entitle the article, "Shirts and Skins." That title brought back memories of that era and made him laugh.

When Emmaus High School and older aged boys played in his evening summertime basketball league held on the Lincoln School playground, one team kept their T-shirts on (the Shirts) and the other took theirs off (the Skins).

Athletic-minded boys of all ages who went to school in Emmaus were fortunate to have outstanding scholastic coaches such as William "Luke' Lobb who was the head football coach and athletic director; Ken Moyer who was varsity line coach and head basketball coach; Al Neff who was varsity backfield coach and who replaced Leon Tuttle in 1959 as baseball coach; Dick Shaak who was the junior varsity coach in football and basketball; along with other gridiron coaches Dick Keim, Evan Richards, Jim Roth, Bob Bottorf, Glenn Johns and Bruce "Bup" Polster.

These men not only taught you about the basics of football, basketball and baseball, but also about sportsmanship.

At Emmaus these coaches emphasized being a gentleman first, followed by being a good student and finally being a good athlete at the sports you played. They built bodies, minds and character.

Over the years, many of these great Green Hornet leaders – Lobb, Shaak, Johns, Polster and most recently, Moyer – have passed on.

Kenneth T. Moyer was born and raised in Allentown. His father, Raymond Moyer, was the physical education director of the YMCA for over 33 years. A 1942 graduate of Allentown High School, Ken was a three-sport star – football, basketball, baseball - under legendary coach, J. Birney Crum.

After serving for 28 months overseas in the Navy during World War II, Ken returned to the U.S. and played for the Jacksonville Naval Base "Fliers" in 1945. His coach, Jim Tatum, went on to college coaching fame at Oklahoma, Maryland and North Carolina.

Tatum's 1953 Maryland team won the national championship.

Ken attended Muhlenberg in 1946 and was a starting end for college hall of fame coach Floyd 'Ben' Schwartzwalder. The Mules went 9-1 on the season and defeated St. Bonaventure, 26-25, in the Tobacco Bowl in Lexington, Kentucky. Schwartzwalder left for Syracuse in 1949 and his 1959 Orangemen were national champions.

Moyer then went to East Stroudsburg State Teachers College where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education.

On Birney Crum's recommendations, Moyer became the head football coach at Souderton High School in the autumn of 1951 and in December of that year was hired as the head basketball coach and assistant football coach at Emmaus. He replaced Walt Houser who joined the FBI in Washington, D.C.

Moyer coached the hardwood Green Hornets to two of the most satisfying victories in school history.

In the winter of 1958, Emmaus defeated Catasauqua, 68-60, before 3,000 fans at Muhlenberg to capture the school's first-ever Lehigh Valley League basketball championship. In December of 1958, the Green and Gold upset mighty Allentown High School, 60-55, in the Little Palestra. It was the first time the Canaries lost to a Lehigh Valley League team on their home court.

In June of 1960, Moyer resigned his Emmaus position to take over for his former high school mentor, J. Birney Crum, as the head basketball coach at Muhlenberg College. Shaak replaced Moyer as head basketball coach of the Green Hornets.

Moyer went on to have fantastic basketball success at Muhlenberg. In 21 seasons from 1960 to 1981, he became the Mule's all-time winningest coach, and won three straight Middle Atlantic Conference championships from 1968 to 1970. His high-octane offensive attack produced 11 players who scored over 1,000 points in their careers.

Ken was always active in his church. Interest in the Lehigh Valley's local history led Ken in his retirement to give slide show presentations and talks to various groups and organizations on subjects such as the Lehigh Canal system, one-room school houses, the Molly Maguires and the Switchback Railway in Jim Thorpe. He also took one of his dogs to the two Cedarbrook nursing facilities to provide therapeutic comfort to the residents.

Throughout his retirement, 'the coach,' kept in touch with his former students and athletes as it was not uncommon to receive a congratulatory note from him for some personal accomplishment or a job well done.

Evan Burian

Emmaus

Editor's Note: Evan Burian, of Emmaus, is the author of six books including Sports Legends of the Lehigh Valley.