To many people, Ron Stoops will be remembered as a hero. He was the ideal teacher, coach, and parent; a model to all who knew him. A faculty member for twenty-nine years, he will not be forgotten by the thousands who either knew him or knew of him. He served as an assistant football coach whose primary role was to school offensive ends and to coordinate defensive strategy. His handiwork can be clearly seen in our four State Championships claimed by Mooney’s gridiron teams. His hallmark defensive units featured intelligent, crisp, hard-hitting players that punished opposing teams for challenging their turf. They exacted a “penalty” for each yard grudgingly given up on the field of play. While his football prowess was without dispute, baseball was his first love. In 1974 he was given the duty of leading Mooney’s reconstituted baseball program. He immediately established the Cardinals as an area baseball power. Annually, his teams could be counted on to be in the thick of the battle for both league and postseason tourney honors. In addition to his football and baseball duties, Ron also served as one of Mooney’s early tennis coaches. Ron married the former Evelyn “Dee Dee” Rochford and had six children. He coached his four sons at Cardinal Mooney. He died after being stricken with a heart attack on the sidelines on October 7, 1988.