Booker Thomas Moore (June 23, 1959September 20, 2009) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

. Moore set six high school records in football while attending

Flint Southwestern Academy Flint Southwestern Academy (FSA, Southwestern Academy, or Flint Southwestern) is located in Flint, Michigan, United States. This school is a part of the Flint Community Schools. In 1989 Flint Academy closed and the school merged with Southwes ...

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of ...

. As a member of the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The inte ...

, Moore rushed for 2,072 yards and 20 touchdowns from 1977 to 1980, and played for a national championship in the 1979 Sugar Bowl versus

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. Moore was selected in the first round by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

in the

1981 NFL Draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981, at the New York S ...

. He played four seasons for the Bills, appearing in 51 games from 1982 to 1985. Moore did not start in his rookie season, but he did managed to rush for 38 yards on 16 attempts. In his second season he started 11 games for the Bills. In a 28–23 loss to the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

Moore rushed for 53 yards on 12 attempts, taking over for starter

Roosevelt Leaks Roosevelt Leaks Jr. (born January 31, 1953) is a former All-American running back and 2005 inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame. He was the first black All-American player in University of Texas history and went on to play in the Nati ...

. Though he would start 15 games the next season, his production went down, only getting 84 yards on 24 attempts. He would not score a rushing touchdown until 1985, his final season. His touchdown was the lone score for Buffalo in 17-7 loss to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

. Moore had scored the go-ahead touchdown in the first half, but the Bills defense allowed 10 unanswered points, including an 11 yard pass from

Bernie Kosar Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately at the University of Miami where he led the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played professionally in ...

Ozzie Newsome Ozzie Newsome Jr. (born March 16, 1956) is an American former professional football player and executive who is the executive vice president of player personnel of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Newsome was a tight e ...

in the fourth quarter that sealed the game. He was diagnosed with

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain oft ...

shortly after being drafted. Upon retirement in 1986, Moore became a

Genesee County, Michigan Genesee County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 406,211, making it the fifth-most populous county in Michigan. The county seat and population center is Flint (birthplace of General Motors) ...

, sheriff's deputy. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at his home in Flint on September 20, 2009.

References

External links

Booker Moore's stats
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Michigan Live MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers in the state of Michigan. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold to Advance Publicati ...

'', September 21, 2009. 1959 births 2009 deaths American football running backs Buffalo Bills players Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of American football from Flint, Michigan {{runningback-1950s-stub