Bernie Moore

Bernie Hawthorne Moore (April 30, 1895 – November 6, 1967) was an American college football, basketball, track and field coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Mercer University (1926–1928) and Louisiana State University (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 in 1952.

Bernie Moore
Biographical details
Born(1895-04-30)April 30, 1895
Jonesborough, Tennessee
DiedNovember 6, 1967(1967-11-06) (aged 72)
Winchester, Tennessee
Playing career
Football
1910sCarson–Newman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1923–1925Sewanee (line)
1926–1928Mercer
1929–1934LSU (assistant)
1935–1947LSU
Basketball
1926–1928Mercer
Track and field
1930–1947LSU
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1926–1928Mercer
1948–1966SEC (commissioner)
Head coaching record
Overall95–51–9 (football)
24–11 (basketball)
Bowls1–3–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
2× SEC (1935, 1936)
Awards
Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (1966)
Corbett Award (1967)
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 1952 (profile)

Early life

Moore was the youngest of 14 children, the son of a Baptist minister. He graduated from Carson–Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee, where he played football and baseball.[1]

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.[2]

Mercer

Moore coached the Mercer Bears from 1926 to 1928. Phoney Smith, 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 on a 95-yard kickoff return.[3] Later Georgia coach Wally Butts was also one of Moore's players at Mercer.[4][5]

LSU

Moore came to Louisiana State University in 1929 as an assistant coach for Russ Cohen's LSU Tigers football team.[1] He became the coach of the LSU Tigers track and field team in 1930.[6] His 1933 track team won the national championship.[7]

Moore took over the LSU football head coaching job in 1935 after the resignation of Biff Jones, and was a popular choice among the football players.[8][9][10] Moore's 1935 Tigers posted a 9–2 record and the school's first Southeastern Conference 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.

Later life and legacy

Moore was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1963 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium is named in his honor. He died on November 6, 1967 in Winchester, Tennessee.[11] Frank Rose, former University of Alabama 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."[11]

Head coaching record

Football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs AP#
Mercer Bears (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1926–1928)
1926 Mercer 4–3–2
1927 Mercer 5–4
1928 Mercer 3–5–1
Mercer: 12–12–3
LSU Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (1935–1947)
1935 LSU 9–25–01stL Sugar
1936 LSU 9–1–16–01stL Sugar2
1937 LSU 9–25–12ndL Sugar8
1938 LSU 6–42–410th
1939 LSU 4–51–510th
1940 LSU 6–43–36th
1941 LSU 4–4–22–2–27th
1942 LSU 7–33–26th
1943 LSU 6–32–22ndW Orange
1944 LSU 2–5–12–3–16th
1945 LSU 7–25–23rd15
1946 LSU 9–1–15–13rdT Cotton8
1947 LSU 5–3–12–3–18th
LSU: 83–39–643–28–4
Total:95–51–9
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. "Bernie Moore". lasportshall.com. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  2. "SEC getting a new boss this week". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. January 28, 1965. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  3. Garbin, Patrick (2008). About them Dawgs!: Georgia football's memorable teams and players. United States: Scarecrow Press. pp. 43, 48. ISBN 978-0-8108-6040-7.
  4. Wilder, Robert E. Gridiron Glory Days [Football at Mercer, 1892-1942]. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press. p. 73. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  5. Scott, Richard. SEC Football [75 Years of Pride and Passion]. London, England: Voyaguer Press. p. 126. ISBN 1616731338. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  6. "LSU Track and Field Media Guide". lsusports.net. p. 7. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  7. "LSU Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee Bernie Moore". lsusports.net. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  8. "LSU Year-by-Year Records" (PDF). lsusports.net. p. 107. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  9. Vincent, Herb. LSU Football Vault [The History of the Fighting Tigers]. Atlanta, Georgia: Whitman Publishing, LLC. p. 89. ISBN 0794824285. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  10. "Huey Long Puts his "Okay" on the New Coach". The Lewiston Daily Sun. December 28, 1934. p. 9. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  11. "Bernie Moore Dies but Imprint on SEC Remains". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. November 7, 1967. Retrieved March 5, 2016.

Bibliography
  • Vincent, Herb (2008). LSU Football Vault: The History of the Fighting Tigers. Whitman Publishing, LLC. ISBN 0794824285.
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