Mewelde Jaem Cadere Moore (born July 24, 1982) is an American former 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 (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the fourth round of the

2004 NFL draft The 2004 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 from April 24–25, 2004, at the Theate ...

. Moore also played with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, winning a

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl ring offers a collectible memento for the actual players and t ...

over the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

. He played

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 ...

for the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interc ...

, just down the road from his hometown of

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

where he was a standout performer at Belaire High School.

College career

Moore is only the second player in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

history to rush for 4,000 yards and have 2,000 yards receiving in a career, joining former Viking

Darrin Nelson Darrin Milo Nelson (born January 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers. He played college ...

(

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

). Known for his high-stepping gait and effective straight-arm tactics, Moore ranks 11th in Division I history in all-purpose yards with 6,505 yards. He ran for 100+ yards in 22 games to set Tulane and

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

records. His 36 career TDs rank second in Tulane and C-USA history. Moore ran for 1,138 yards as a junior and 1,421 as a sophomore, respectively, to set Tulane's single-season rushing record. Moore was also drafted in the fourth round of the 2000

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

draft by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. He spent three summers in the organization while in college.

2000

In 2000, Moore was named C-USA's Freshman of the Year. He was also a Freshman All-America choice by

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

and Football News. Moore started 7 of the 10 games he played in on the season for the

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

Green Wave. He hauled in a 74-yard scoring pass against

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. Posted a season-high 131 rushing yards and had 56 receiving yards against

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

. He carried the ball for 114 yards against

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He also had 100-yards rushing against

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

and Southern Methodist.

2001

In 2001, Moore was named 1st-Team All-C-USA. He also set Tulane single-season rushing record with 1,422 yards. He broke the 100-yard rushing mark 7 times during the season. Moore also set school record with 249 rushing yards on 28 attempts, breaking the old mark by 2 yards that had stood since 1970 by former Tulane Green Wave great David Abercrombie while hauling in 6 passes for 87 yards. He became the first Tulane player to break the 100-yard mark in rushing and receiving, in a game against

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

with 131 rushing yards and 130 receiving. Moore also ran for 201 yards and had 70 yards receiving against Southern. He had a career-best 168 receiving yards with TDs of 32 and 40 yards along with 80 rushing yards and a touchdown against Army.

2002

In 2002, Moore, once again, was named to the All-C-USA team by The Sporting News. Moore became only the second player in Tulane history to run for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, joining

Eddie Price Edward Joseph Price Jr. (September 2, 1925 – July 21, 1979) was an American professional football player who was a running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Tulane Universit ...

in 1948–49. Led the team in rushing and receiving. He averaged 129.5 all-purpose yards per game for the season. He scored a pair of ground TDs and caught a touchdown pass against East Carolina. He also ran for season-high 147 yards against Southern. Moore carried the ball 32 times for 136 yards and had 5 catches for 58 yards against

Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

. He caught a 47-yard TD pass against

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. Moore ran for 116 yards on 30 carries and had 6 receptions for 80 yards against

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in the

Hawaii Bowl The Hawaii Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii, area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching At ...

2003

In 2003, Moore earned 1st-Team C-USA honors. He was named to

Doak Walker Ewell Doak Walker II (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) was an American football player who was a halfback and kicker. He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, winning the Maxwell Award in 1947 and the Heisman Trophy in 1948. H ...

and

Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information direc ...

watch lists honoring the top running back and player in college football. Moore started the first 9 games of the season but missed the final 3 with broken hand that required surgery. He ranked second in C-USA with a 101.0 rushing average per game and 147.0 all-purpose yards per game. Moore ran for 100 yards and had 116 receiving yards against

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Johnson and Alexandria. It is a part of the Un ...

, scoring on passes of 32, 28 and 23 yards. He also, posted 114 rushing yards against

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and had TD runs of 6 and 32 yards. Also, he ran for season-best 159 yards against Memphis. Moore had 123 yards on the ground and a 25-yard TD against

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. Moore recorded 115 yards rushing and 55 receiving against Army before suffering season-ending broken hand. Moore was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the fourth round of the 2000 MLB draft but did not sign.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

He was selected by the

with the 119th overall pick in the fourth round of the

out of

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

On March 3, 2008, Moore signed a three-year contract to join the

. Moore was given the opportunity to start after

Willie Parker Willie Everett Parker Jr. (born November 11, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for No ...

and

Rashard Mendenhall Rashard Jamal Mendenhall (born June 19, 1987) is an American former football running back who played for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Pitt ...

were injured. Although he was a backup for most of the year, he racked up 588 yards and 5 touchdowns rushing and 320 yards and one touchdown receiving. He also has one passing touchdown. At the end of the 2010 season, Moore and the Steelers appeared in

Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He had three rushes for 13 yards and had one kickoff return for 11 yards in the 31–25 loss.

Indianapolis Colts

During free agency, Mewelde signed a one-year contract with the Colts. He didn't record a touchdown and was waived on October 29, 2012. The Colts re-signed him in December in time to play against Houston, but he lost a key fumble on the Indianapolis goal line in the loss.

Personal life

Moore took 24 credits in spring 2004 so he could graduate on time with a double major in Finance and Accounting from Tulane University. Moore was noted for winning mathematics contests before matriculating at Tulane. Moore is active in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

community with the

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and develop "the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academi ...

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

, and Memorial Blood Center. Moore was a recipient of the Community Service Award for Business Ethics at the Tulane Council of Entrepreneurs and Business School Council Awards Gala in spring 2003. Moore was a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

at Belaire High School in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. He also supports youth education through his Mewelde Moore Knowledge First Foundation. Moore regularly visits his alma mater, Tulane for fundraising events. He married his college girlfriend, Tymeka.

Chris Berman Christopher James Berman (born May 10, 1955), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's '' Sunday NFL Count ...

gave him the nickname "Waltzing" Mewelde, a play on the song

Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing ...

. In 2005, he was questioned as a participant in the

Minnesota Vikings boat party scandal On October 6, 2005, an alleged sex party occurred on Lake Minnetonka with seventeen members of the Minnesota Vikings football team including quarterback Daunte Culpepper, Fred Smoot, Mewelde Moore, Pat Williams, Bryant McKinnie, Nate Burleso ...

. His wife Tymeka played basketball for Tulane. His brother-in-law Willie played basketball for University of Houston.

References

External links

Minnesota Vikings bioPittsburgh Steelers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Mewelde 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Hammond, Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana American football return specialists American football running backs Tulane Green Wave football players Minnesota Vikings players Pittsburgh Steelers players Indianapolis Colts players Baseball players from Louisiana 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen