Lawrence George Stubing

Larry “Moose” Stubing was born in The Bronx New York to Harold and Helen Stubing on March 31, 1938. He passed away January 19 at the age of 79, at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He was proceeded in death by his beloved wife of 59 years, Estelle “Cookie” Stubing on May 31, 2017. She was the love of his life. He is survived by his son, Scott Charles Stubing, and Scott’s children Zoe, Staci, Darby, Miklos, Guadalupe, Anais, Madalyn, and Lilly as well as his daughter Estelle Stacey Casey and her children Patrick (wife Roseann), Cody, Andrew and Cassidy. He was raised in The Bronx, and attended Evander Childs High School where he met and later married his high school sweetheart. He was a 3 sport standout in high school and earned All-New York City Honors in basketball, football and baseball. Instead of accepting a football scholarship to Penn State , he signed a baseball contract with the Pittsburg Pirates and played in the minors with them, the New York/San Francisco Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals and the California Angels. He hit 192 home runs, in 1410 games, in 15 minor league seasons. He earned his nickname with his 6’3” , 200 lb imposing slide into home when an announcer said “Look at that that big Moose sliding into home plate” He played for teams in Brunswick, Georgia; Springfield, Illinois; Selma, Alabama; St. Cloud, Minn.; Jackson, Miss. and El Paso Texas. While with the El Paso Sun Kings, he became one of the most feared sluggers in the Texas League. In 1964, he batted .316, hit 32 homers and drove in 120 runs. Moose also played in the Mexican League for a year and “retired” in 1966 to go into the beer business. He was called from retirement by the California Angels in 1967 and assigned to El Paso as a player-coach. He once played every position in a game under manager Chuck Tanner, where he homered, and threw a 1-2-3 inning. It was in El Paso that he became close friends with basketball legend Don Haskins whose letter of recommendation led to him refereeing Division I basketball. He did this until 2001 in the Western Athletic, Southwest and Pac-12 Conferences, drawing cheers of “Mooooose” from the crowd, quite a rarity for a ref, as he was known as being friendly, fair and decisive. He worked several NCAA and NIT tournament games. He had a brief stint in the majors with the Angels in 1967 where he went 0 for 5 as a pinch hitter. He began coaching and managing for the Angels farm system in Quad Cities, Iowa in 1976. There he led future all stars Dickie Thon and Carney Lansford as well as future manager Joe Maddon. He managed in Salinas, CA where his team won the California League and then in 1978 he led the El Paso Diablos to the Texas League Championship which was all the more fulfilling as he made his home and raised his children there for 20 years. He was named Pacific Coast manager of the year in 1982 with the Spokane Indians. In 1984 he led the Edmonton Trappers as the first Canadian team to the Pacific Coast League championship. He served as the third base and hitting coach for the CA Angels for 6 seasons and was named the interim manager for the Angels in 1988 where he went 0 for 8 but also earned him a Topps Baseball card. He thus became the first player to go hitless and winless as a big league player and manager to which he said “ At least I’m in the record books which is a lot more than most people” He returned to coaching and went on to scout for the Angels until 2006, during which time he earned a World Series ring. He then served as the special asst. to the General Manager for 3 seasons with the Washington Nationals. He was elected to the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. He was honored in 2012 with the Legends in Scouting Award by the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation. Anybody who met Moose adored his colorful personality. He was a captivating figure-big, bodacious and worthy of his nickname. He was kind, genuine, and witty. He had an incredible baseball mind and could spout baseball statistics and tell you how fast a pitch was without the radar gun. He loved his country and served in the Army and Army National Guard in the early 60s. Aaron Spelling used the Baseball Encyclopedia to name his TV characters and named Captain Stubing of the Love Boat for him. He was an incredibly generous father and grandfather. He will be greatly missed by his children, grandchildren, other family and numerous friends. He was beloved by anyone who got to know him. He lived in Villa Park, CA for the past 30 years where he was an avid bridge player. A memorial service is planned at Trinity United Presbyterian Church in Santa Ana CA on March 24 at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation 3914 Corte Cancion. Thousand Oakes, CA 91360.