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Nat Moore

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Nat Moore
refer to caption
Moore in 2014
No. 89
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1951-09-19) September 19, 1951 (age 73)
Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:184 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High school:Edison (Miami, Florida)
College:Florida (1972–1973)
NFL draft:1974 / round: 3 / pick: 78
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:183
Games started:124
Receptions:510
Receiving yards:7,546
Touchdowns:74
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Nathaniel Moore (born September 19, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. Moore played college football for the Florida Gators, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. He is best known as a favorite passing target of Dolphins quarterbacks Bob Griese and Dan Marino. Nat Moore is also credited as football consultant in the 1977 movie Black Sunday.

Early years

Moore was born in Tallahassee, Florida in 1951.[1] He grew up in Miami, Florida and attended Miami Edison Senior High School and Miami-Dade Community College.[2]

College career

On the recommendation of his junior college football coach, Moore received an athletic scholarship to transfer from the University of Tennessee at Martin to the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a star running back for coach Doug Dickey's Gators teams in 1972 and 1973.[3] As a junior in 1972, Moore led the Gators with 145 rushes for 845 yards and nine rushing touchdowns, 25 receptions for 351 receiving yards and four touchdown catches, and 230 return yards, while earning first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and honorable mention All-American accolades.[3]

Moore graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in exercise and sport science in 1975, and he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978.[4][5] In a 2006 article series published by The Gainesville Sun, the newspaper's sportswriters ranked him as No. 49 among the 100 all-time greatest Florida Gators of the team's first 100 seasons.[6]

Professional career

Moore was chosen by the Miami Dolphins in the third round (78th pick overall) of the 1974 NFL Draft,[7] and he played for the Dolphins for 13 seasons from 1974 to 1986.[1] He was elected to the Pro Bowl in 1977,[8] after a season in which he made 52 receptions and led the league with 12 receiving touchdowns (he also had a rushing touchdown that year).[2] Moore is immortalized in the famous "Helicopter Catch" video clip—while making a reception against the New York Jets at Giants Stadium in 1984, he was hit simultaneously from opposite directions by two Jets tacklers sending his body spinning into the air. The catch was a crucial third-down conversion, leading to a score and a come-from-behind win in a closely contested divisional game.

By the time Moore retired at the end of 1986, his 13th season with the Dolphins, he had broken almost every receiving record of the Dolphins; his team records, however, were subsequently broken by teammates Mark Clayton and Mark Duper.

His final career receiving statistics were 510 catches for 7,547 yards and 74 touchdowns.[1] He also rushed for 249 yards and a touchdown, returned 27 punts for 297 yards, and gained 856 yards on 33 kickoff returns.[1]

Career statistics

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP Receiving
Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1974 MIA 14 37 605 16.4 48 2
1975 MIA 14 40 705 17.6 79 4
1976 MIA 9 33 625 18.9 67 4
1977 MIA 14 52 765 14.7 73 12
1978 MIA 16 48 645 13.4 47 10
1979 MIA 16 48 840 17.5 53 6
1989 MIA 16 47 564 12.0 33 7
1981 MIA 13 26 452 17.4 52 2
1982 MIA 9 8 82 10.3 23 1
1983 MIA 16 39 558 14.3 66 6
1984 MIA 16 43 573 13.3 37 6
1985 MIA 15 51 701 13.7 69 7
1986 MIA 16 38 431 11.3 38 7
Career[9] 183 510 7,546 14.8 79 74

Life after football

Nat Moore (left) and Bob Griese (right) at the 2014 Miami International Film Festival

Moore is also known for his humanitarian work and philanthropy. In 1984, the NFL voted Moore as "Man of the Year," an honor given to a player who gives outstanding service to his community. Moore also received the Byron White Humanitarian Award in 1986. He created The Nat Moore Foundation, an organization through which he continues to work with disadvantaged youths in the Miami-Dade County area, in 1998.

On December 5, 1999 he was added to the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll.

Moore was a football broadcaster for Florida Gators football games on Sun Sports until 2011. As an announcer, he was notorious for adding an "s" to the last names of various players (Chris Leak became "Chris Leaks," Percy Harvin became "Harvins," etc.) In addition, he teams with Bob Griese to provide television analysis of preseason Dolphins games. He also owns a sports promotions firm, Nat Moore & Associates, Inc. He is a vice president in the Miami Dolphins organization and oversees the Miami Dolphins Alumni Association, and also serves as the executive director of the NFL Super Bowl Football Clinic.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d National Football League, Historical Players, Nat Moore. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  2. ^ a b databaseFootball.com, Players, Nat Moore Archived February 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  3. ^ a b 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 96, 138–140, 143, 147, 184 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  4. ^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  5. ^ "Bean And Koch Inducted," The Ledger, p. 1D (March 30, 1978). Retrieved September 5, 2011.
  6. ^ Robbie Andreu & Pat Dooley, "No. 49 Nat Moore," The Gainesville Sun (July 16, 2006). Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  7. ^ Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1974 National Football League Draft. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  8. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Nat Moore. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  9. ^ "Nat Moore Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Bibliography

  • Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
  • Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
  • Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
  • McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
  • McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). ISBN 0-87397-025-X.
  • Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196-X.
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