Donn Moomaw (born October 15, 1931) is an American retired professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, Kick (football), kicking a Football (ball), ball to score a Goal (sport), goal. Unqualified, Football (word), the word ''football'' normally means the form of football tha ...

player and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

minister. Moomaw played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most o ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

as the center and linebacker for the team. He was elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vot ...

in 1973.

Early life

Moomaw was born in Santa Ana, California, and attended its

Santa Ana High School Santa Ana High School is the oldest and largest high school in Orange County, California, United States. The school was established in 1889. Notable alumni * Original members of the surf band The Chantays * Barry Asher, professional bowler * ...

Football career

Moomaw played linebacker in 1950, 1951, and 1952. During that time, he was named a two time All-American (in 1950 and consensus in 1952), making him the first in UCLA history. He was named MVP both in 1950 and 1952, and he was co-captain in 1952. In 1953, Moomaw was selected in the first round of the

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by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams pla ...

. However, he did not play in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

, noting that he did not want to play football on Sundays. Moomaw signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, whose teams did not play on Sundays. He appeared in seven games for the Argonauts in 1953, and two games for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

in 1955. Moomaw's UCLA jersey number (#80) has been retired by the team. He was inducted into the

in 1973, and the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in its inaugural year of 1984. His football legacy at UCLA continues through the "Donn D. Moomaw Award for Outstanding Defensive Player in USC Game", which is still given today.

Minister career

Moomaw later became a Presbyterian minister, most notably serving

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' Bel Air Presbyterian Church as pastor from 1964 to 1993. During this time, he became friends with

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, th ...

Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy. Moomaw gave the

invocation An invocation (from the Latin verb ''invocare'' "to call on, invoke, to give") may take the form of: *Supplication, prayer or spell. *A form of possession. *Command or conjuration. * Self-identification with certain spirits. These forms ...

at Reagan's inauguration as

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the ...

in both 1967 and 1971 and later at his 1981 presidential inauguration and 1985 presidential inauguration. His invocation at the 1981 inauguration included a prayer for freedom for 52 Americans.

Sex scandal

In 1993, he was forced to resign as a result of "sexual contact" with five women. In 1997, he was allowed to return to the pulpit on a full-time basis at the 800-member Village Community Presbyterian Church in Rancho Santa Fe. Prior to that position, Rev. Moomaw was allowed to serve as the guest preacher at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

References

1931 births Living people All-American college football players Sportspeople from Santa Ana, California Players of American football from California American football centers UCLA Bruins football players American players of Canadian football College Football Hall of Fame inductees American Presbyterians Toronto Argonauts players Ottawa Rough Riders players {{offensive-lineman-1930s-stub