Manfred Moore (December 22, 1950 – January 11, 2020) was an American professional American football running back and, briefly, rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s.

Early years

Moore was born in Martinez, California. He graduated from San Fernando High School in San Fernando, California. He played

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 ...

for the University of Southern California.

Professional career

NFL career

Moore was a 9th round selection (216th overall) in the

1974 NFL Draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have h ...

by the San Francisco 49ers. He played for the 49ers in 1974 and 1975, being named their special teams player of the year in both seasons. He then spent the

1976 NFL season The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This fulfilled one of the conditions agreed to in 1966 for the 1 ...

with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after being selected by them in the

1976 NFL expansion draft The 1976 National Football League (NFL) expansion draft was held March 30–31, 1976. The expansion teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Flor ...

. 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 The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

to replace their injured kick returner

Rick Jennings Richard Jennings, who attended Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., was a college football player at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a professional football player for the Oakland Raiders (three times), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ...

Switch to rugby league

Following 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 The 1977 NSWRFL season was the 70th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. Twelve clubs, including six of 1908's foundation teams and another six from around Sydney ...

, with the move being financed by John Singleton. 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. 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. 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.

Return to the NFL

Moore returned to the National Football League with the Minnesota Vikings, playing twelve games in the

1977 NFL season The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The two second-year expansion teams switched conferences, with the Seattle Seahawks moving from the NFC West to the AFC West, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers transfe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Manfred 1950 births 2020 deaths People from Martinez, California Players of American football from Contra Costa County, California American football running backs American rugby league players San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Oakland Raiders players Newtown Jets players American expatriate rugby league players Minnesota Vikings players Rugby league wingers Footballers who switched code