“Moe” Memories to live forever at Twins Field

When I was growing up and going to Twins games here in Elizabethton, TN, I always saw Moe at the games. He was a regular SuperFan for this farm club. And now, the rest of the story….

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[Photo and Story courtesy Elizabethton Newspapers, Inc]

By Shelby Tolley-McQueen

From Staff Reports

As the boys of summer returned to Elizabethton this week, another one of their biggest fans set off on an adventure of his own. Sixty-one year-old Larry “Moe” Riddle passed away Monday morning.

Throughout the decades, Moe was a constant supporter of the Elizabethton Twins. With his death, as well as the death of Ralph Claymon in 2005, the livelihood at Joe O’Brien Field’s sidelines has dimmed considerably.

The summer of 1990 was my first experience with Moe and Ralph. To know one was to know the other and I grew to love both. Moe knew the language of Elvis Presley. Ralph had a language all his own.

With the tap of his foot and the snap of two fingers, I have always remembered Moe singing Elvis’ tunes with an occasional flair of opera sounds. The fearless duo of Moe and Ralph shaking their fists side-by-side inside the fence lines just outside the home dressing room at Joe O’Brien was a constant sight during the summer months.

For three decades, just as sure as summer arrived in E-Town, Moe and Ralph arrived at the clubhouse. Over the years, many times, news of their antics reached the rookie leagues in Florida and the Twins’ home base in Minnesota.

When the team arrived, Moe and Ralph often were the first fans discussed. Their blood seemed to run true red, blue, white and gray. Twins General Manager Terry Ryan knew who Moe and Ralph were.