Yo-Yo Champion Tommy Moore

Description

Tommy Moore was living the American dream -- scaling the peaks to the top of the New York City business world -- when a 39-cent Duncan yo-yo changed his life. "I was the most uptight, intense, fiercely competitive, humorless member of a New York Stock Exchange firm," says Tommy, who was tired of starched shirts and three-piece suits. A friend surprised him by giving him a yo-yo for his birthday. That little toy brought a flood of childhood memories back to Tommy, who as a fourth grader was declared the first and only yo-yo champion of Baker City, Oregon in 1951. In those days, Tommy didn't have the money to buy toys -- not even a 39-cent yo-yo. But his teacher, Ruby Marsland, was one of those special ladies who had a heart for the needs of children. "She knew I didn't have a yo-yo," says Tommy. One day Mrs Marsland met him as he was getting off the school bus. She gave Tommy her son's black-and-red wooden Duncan and asked him if he thought he might consider entering the school's yo-yo competition. "Well, I was in love with her," says Tommy, who immediately began honing his skills with the toy. "The other part of the story," Tommy says, laughing, "is that I bugged two neighbor kids, Billy Hardin and his older brother, to teach me the tricks -- and they actually did. Then, I turned around and beat them both in the local contest." Tommy took his win in stride and spent many hours in preparation for the statewide competition in Klamath Falls. There were some great prizes for te top contenders, including big-money college scholarships. But Tommy was only a kid. College seemed like light-years away. A beautiful Schwinn Black Phantom bike was the object of his desire. He won that bike, and a colorfully embroidered patch reading, "1951 Duncan yo-yo winner." Tommy's mother sewed it on his jacket so everyone in Baker City would remember they had a celebrity in their midst. Tommy reveled in his newfound fame for a while, but finally put his yo-yo on the shelf and devoted himself to other pursuits. He put his new Schwinn Phantom to use delivering both Grit -- a national newspaper -- and the local Democrat-Herald, earning a tidy little income for a kid. "I was the most affluent 12-year-old in Baker," says Tommy. After graduating from Baker High School, Tommy attended the University of Oregon, where once again he discovered the yo-yo. This time a fraternity brother, who was eager to impress, pulled a Duncan yo-yo from his pocket and set it spinning. A few tricks, and it was time to bring down the curtain. Tommy's yo-yo finger was just itching to get in on the action, and soon he was the life of the party, performing every trick in the book. As the years rolled by, Tommy couldn't seem to escape the toy that had made him famous as a kid. Yet it wasn't until 1990 that he decided that a yo-yo was better business than a stock portfolio. Taking a leap of faith, Tommy started the Walla Walla Yo-Yo Company, based in Portland, Oregon. "The name was actually kind of a joke," says Tommy, who says he liked the way the names 'Walla Walla' and 'yo-yo' sounded together. Tommy designed and circulated anattractive brochure and began scheduling programs in area schools.

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