Manfred Moore (December 22, 1950 – January 11, 2020)[1] was an American professional American football running back and, briefly, rugby league player who played in the 1970s.
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | December 22, 1950 Martinez, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | January 11, 2020 (aged 69) | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 197 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | San Fernando (CA) | ||||||||
| College: | USC | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1974 / round: 9 / pick: 216 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | wing | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Early years
editMoore was born in Martinez, California. He graduated from San Fernando High School in San Fernando, California. He played college football for the University of Southern California.
Professional career
editNFL career
editMoore was a 9th round selection (216th overall) in the 1974 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers.[2] He played for the 49ers in 1974 and 1975, being named their special teams player of the year in both seasons.[3] He then spent the 1976 NFL season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after being selected by them in the 1976 NFL expansion draft.[4] Near the end of the 1976 season he was cut by the winless Buccaneers (0–13 at that point) and signed by the Oakland Raiders to replace their injured kick returner Rick Jennings.[5]
Switch to rugby league
editFollowing his Super Bowl appearance, Moore was recruited by Australian New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership team the Newtown Jets for the 1977 NSWRFL season, with the move being financed by John Singleton.[3] He made his first grade debut just 98 days after the Super Bowl, playing on the wing against the Western Suburbs Magpies before 5,743 spectators at Henson Park. He impressed on debut, scoring the club's first try of the season.[6] This made him the first, and to date only, person to score a first grade rugby league try in Australia and an NFL touchdown in the US.[3] Moore lasted only four games in the NSWRFL; he was relegated to reserve grade and played in the second row before receiving a head injury in a match against Penrith which prompted him to return to the National Football League prematurely.[6][7]
Return to the NFL
editMoore returned to the National Football League with the Minnesota Vikings, playing twelve games in the 1977 NFL season.[8]
References
edit- ^ Writer, Mike Terry, Sun Contributing. "Manfred Moore Passes". The San Fernando Valley Sun.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "1974 NFL Player Draft". databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
- ^ a b c "The Super Bowl winner who rocked rugby league after walking the reverse path to Jarryd Hayne". foxsports.com.au. August 25, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ Manfred Moore bucpower.com
- ^ Mizell, Hubert. "Moore: from 0-13 to the Super Bowl". St. Petersburg Times. December 29, 1976
- ^ a b Ian Heads and David Middleton (2008). A Centenary of Rugby League (1908-2008). Sydney: Pan Macmillan. p. 606. ISBN 978-1-4050-3830-0.
- ^ "When an American bled for Newtown". theage.com.au. August 25, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ "Manfred Moore player page". databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2008.