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

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 (appr ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

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

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

(1926–1928) and

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

(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 attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1952.

Early life

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

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister. He graduated from Carson–Newman College in

Jefferson City, Tennessee Jefferson City (originally named Mossy Creek) is a city in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 8,419. History Heading southwest along ...

, 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 Sewanee may refer to: * Sewanee, Tennessee * Sewanee: The University of the South * ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892 * Sewanee Natural Bridge * Saint Andrews-Sewanee School See also * Suwanee (disambiguati ...

Mercer

Moore coached the

Mercer Bears The Mercer Bears are the athletic teams of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, United States. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia with an NCAA Division I athletic program and fields teams in eight men's and nine women's sports. The ...

from 1926 to 1928.

Phoney Smith Joseph Farrar "Phoney" Smith (June 26, 1905 – October 27, 1985) was a college football player and high school coach and athletic director. Mercer University "Phoney" was a prominent halfback for the Mercer Baptists of Mercer University. ...

, 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 Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

on a 95-yard

kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (magaz ...

return. Later Georgia coach

Wally Butts James Wallace Butts Jr. (February 7, 1905 – December 17, 1973) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Georgia from 1939 to 1960, compiling a record of 140–8 ...

was also one of Moore's players at Mercer.

LSU

Moore came to

in 1929 as an assistant coach for

Russ Cohen Henry Russell Cohen (February 13, 1893 – April 7, 1981) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 1928 to 1931 and at the University ...

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

team. He became the coach of the

LSU Tigers track and field The LSU Tigers track and field team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's indoor and outdoor track and field. History LSU men's track and field had its beginning in 1897. The Tigers have won a total of 6 NCAA champions ...

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 Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

after the resignation of

Biff Jones Lawrence McCeney "Biff" Jones (October 8, 1895 – February 12, 1980) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as a head coach at the United States Military Academy, Louisiana State University (LSU), ...

, 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 an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

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 The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) is a professional organization for college and university athletic directors in the United States. NACDA boasts a membership of more than 6,100 individuals and more than 1,600 ins ...

Later life and legacy

Moore was inducted into the

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is located in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum – Natchitoches in a new facility in the downtown historic district in Natchitoches, Louisiana. After years of planning and con ...

in 1963 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. LSU's

Bernie Moore Track Stadium The Bernie Moore Track Stadium is an outdoor track and field facility located on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. The facility, built in 1969, serves as the outdoor home of the LSU Tigers track and field team and the ...

is named in his honor. He died on November 6, 1967 in

Winchester, Tennessee Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Tennessee, Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Tullahoma micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Winchester as ...

. Frank Rose, former

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

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

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 track and field coaches in the United States 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