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In the 1960's, Moose and his wife, Janie, decided to build a small diving facility on their farm. Moose admired the sport of diving. In addition to team sports, Moose wanted his children to have an opportunity to excel at an individual sport. Moose studied the sport and received the training he needed to become a coach. He’d climb down from the tractor early enough to coach his children and those that others began to bring to him. It was from such humble beginnings that Moss Farms Diving Tigers became regulars on the awards stands across the state, nation, and the world.
Within the sport of diving, Moose Moss was an anomaly. Coaches and divers alike have marveled that a man with no experience in the sport of diving could have had the success that Moose had with his athletes. His contribution to the sport was recognized in 1985 when he was named by U.S. Diving as the National Age-Group coach of the year. In 1994, he was awarded posthumously the prestigious Glenn McCormic Award for outstanding contribution to the sport of diving. The National YMCA named its annual diving award the Moose Moss Award. The Georgia Diving Association has a lifetime achievement award named in honor of Moss. Most significantly, U.S. Diving named its annual junior’s coaching award the Moose Moss Age-Group Coach of the Year Award.
Moose dreamed of bringing world class diving to Colquitt County. That dream was fulfilled in 1993 with the dedication of the Moose Moss Aquatic Center. The center has been the training site for six Olympic teams and a Can-Am-Mex Championship. The 2004 Speedo National Diving Championship is the third summer national diving championships held at the Moose Moss Aquatic Center.
In his song "Three Wooden Crosses," country singer Randy Travis sings these lines: "I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you/ It's what you leave behind you when you go."
Look what Moose has left behind: a world class diving facility now complete with a dryland training center, athletes who have won nearly every award in the sport of diving, among them Clayton Moss, the grandson of Moose and Janie, an age-group National Champion and the 2003 NCAA Diver of the Year, following a phenomenal career at the University of Kentucky. Look at the opportunities that teenagers have had to excel in an international sport, to continue their education with the help of diving scholarships, to travel the country and even the world. Look at the opportunities Moultrians have had to make wonderful friends from all over the country.
I never had the opportunity to meet Moose Moss. Yet, I have deep gratitude for the legacy he left behind. As I prepare to watch my son, Ryan, and his teammates compete in the highest level of competition in U.S. Diving next week in Moultrie, I will say a prayer of thanksgiving for Moose Moss. Because of his dreams and his desire to see teenagers excel in this challenging sport, my son and his teammates have a greater chance of climbing to new heights, of attending a college of their choice, of developing the self-esteem, grit, and determination it takes to be successful in life.
Each time I meet children and their parents who come to the diving well to try diving for the first time, I realize they are not likely to know how such an opportunity came to be theirs. I don’t worry about giving them a crash course in the history of the pool. I know in time, as months of practice grow into years, and as years are strung together to make a career, all divers and their families eventually discover that they are part of the legacy of Robert C. "Moose" Moss.
Dr. Michael Helms and The Moultrie Observer, August 6, 2004
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iffer on the numbers of pilots and planes lost by the American squadron. One report has the count as low as two lost pilots and six lost planes, despite often being outnumbered eight to one. This group of pilots successfully checked the Japanese invasion of China. They were dubbed the "Flying Tigers" by the Chinese out of pride for their courage in battle and admiration for their success against a powerful enemy. One of the more decorated pilots of the Flying Tigers was Robert C. "Moose" Moss. Moose was born and reared in the small community of Poplar Arbor in northwest Colquitt County. He graduated from Doerun High School and later from Georgia Southern University where he played college football, playing in the first game he ever saw. After his decorated service during World War II, Moose returned to the farm lands of Colquitt County.