Bernie Hawthorne Moore (April 30, 1895 – November 6, 1967) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

(1926–1928) and

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(LSU) (1935–1947). Moore was also the head basketball coach at Mercer (1926–1928) and the head track and field coach at LSU (1930–1947). He was then SEC commissioner from 1948 to 1966. He was inducted into the

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

in 1952.

Early life

Moore was the youngest of 14 children, the son of a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister. He graduated from Carson–Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee, where he played football and baseball.

Career

Coach

Moore coached football, baseball, basketball, and track at Winchester and LaGrange high schools, and Allen Military Academy, before receiving the position of line coach for Sewanee.

Mercer

Moore coached the Mercer Bears from 1926 to 1928. Phoney Smith, Mercer's all-time leading scorer, was the first southern player to cross the goal line against the 1927 " dream and wonder" team of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

on a 95-yard kickoff return. Later Georgia coach

Wally Butts James Wallace Butts Jr. (February 7, 1905 – December 17, 1973) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Georgia from 1939 to 1960, compiling a record of 140– ...

was also one of Moore's players at Mercer.

LSU

Moore came to

in 1929 as an assistant coach for Russ Cohen's

LSU Tigers football The LSU Tigers football program, also known as the Fighting Tigers, represents Louisiana State University in college football. The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers, Tigers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athle ...

team. He became the coach of the LSU Tigers track and field team in 1930. His 1933 track team won the national championship. Moore took over the LSU football head coaching job in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

after the resignation of Biff Jones, and was a popular choice among the football players. Moore's 1935 Tigers posted a 9–2 record and the school's first

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

championship.

Commissioner

After ending his tenure at LSU, the longest of any coach at the university to that point, Moore became SEC Commissioner in 1948. In 1967, he won the inaugural James J. Corbett Memorial Award given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

Later life and legacy

Moore was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1963 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium is named in his honor. He died on November 6, 1967, in Winchester, Tennessee. Frank Rose, former

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

president, said Moore's "energies, his demand for total integrity, and his devotion to clean sports and good academics have left their mark on the campuses of every SEC member. For that, we are grateful."

Head coaching record

Football

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Bernie Moore
at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
Bernie Moore
at the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Bernie 1895 births 1967 deaths Carson–Newman Eagles football players LSU Tigers football coaches LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers track and field coaches Mercer Bears athletic directors Mercer Bears football coaches Mercer Bears men's basketball coaches Sewanee Tigers football coaches Southeastern Conference commissioners College Football Hall of Fame inductees American members of the Churches of Christ Basketball coaches from Tennessee People from Winchester, Tennessee People from Jonesborough, Tennessee