Jim Moscrip

Born in Adena, Ohio, Moscrip attended The Kiski Prep School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, before enrolling at Stanford University.[1] Moscrip played as an end for the Stanford Indians football team (as it was then known) for the 1933 to 1935 seasons.[2] Those teams were known as the "Vow Boys", as they vowed not to lose to USC. The Vow Boys teams did not lose a game to either USC or Cal, and went to three consecutive Rose Bowl Games, the January 1934 to January 1936 editions. Moscrip was named to the 1934 College Football All-America Team by multiple selectors,[lower-alpha 1] and was a consensus selection to the 1935 College Football All-America Team.

A 1933 newspaper article stated that Moscrip acquired his nickname while at Kiski: he once came to school with haircut that made him look "apish" (as in, like a monkey), and he was quickly called "Monk".[3]

Moscrip was selected in the ninth round of the 1936 NFL Draft.[4] He played professional football with the Detroit Lions in 1938 and 1939—appearing in 11 games each season, he made 15 of 18 extra point attempts as a kicker and had one receiving touchdown.[5]

Moscrip appeared in one movie, the 1936 film The Big Game, along with several other players of the era.[6] He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War II and participated in battles at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. After winning a fight against alcohol addiction, Moscrip served as the manager of the alcohol rehabilitation center in Woodside, California, for nearly 25 years. In October 1980, Moscrip died of a heart attack at his home in Atherton, California, at the age of 67.[2] He was survived by his wife and two daughters.[7]

Moscrip was selected to the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 1954,[8] and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985.[1]