Booker Thomas Moore (June 23, 1959September 20, 2009) was an American football running back. Moore set six high school records in football while attending Flint Southwestern Academy in

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 8 ...

. As a member of the Penn State Nittany Lions, Moore rushed for 2,072 yards and 20 touchdowns from 1977 to 1980, and played for a national championship in the

1979 Sugar Bowl The 1979 Sugar Bowl was the 45th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1978–79 bowl game season, it matched the top-ranked Penn State Nitt ...

versus Alabama. 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 She ...

. 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. 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. 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 to Ozzie Newsome in the fourth quarter that sealed the game. He was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome shortly after being drafted. Upon retirement in 1986, Moore became a Genesee County, Michigan, sheriff's deputy. He died of a heart attack 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 Publications ...

'', 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