Ray Earl Moss Sr. was a major league baseball pitcher for the Brooklyn Robins (later the Brooklyn Dodgers) and Boston Braves from 1926-1931. Born in 1901, he was a farmer, milk producer and financial backer of startup company the Milk Jug that evolved into the Golden Gallon with convenience stores in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.
Moss, a Tyner High School graduate, started his baseball career in the Southern League, where he pitched for the Memphis Chicks. Displaying great talent, he moved to the Brooklyn Robins in 1926. The right-handed pitcher with a wicked curve ball had a record of 22-18 during the five years in Flatbush and one year including 12 games for Boston.
After retiring from baseball, he returned to Chattanooga and started a dairy operation on a farm near Bonny Oaks Drive and Highway 153. At the time of his death in 1998 at the age of 98, he was the oldest surviving member of the Boston Braves.
His son, Ray Moss Jr., grew up on the family farm and rose every day at 3:30 a.m. to handle dairy chores. The hard work, fresh air, good food and exercise put him in top physical condition.
One of Chattanooga’s outstanding football stars, he won honors playing center and linebacker for four years with Coach Red Etter at Central High School. He was elected to all-city, all-state, all-Southern and all-American high school teams and also served as president of his class for three years.