.jpg) Moore in 2014 | |||||||||||||
| No. 89 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1951-09-19)September 19, 1951 (age 74) 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: 3rd round, 78th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Nathaniel Moore (born September 19, 1951) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. Moore playedcollege football for theFlorida Gators, and thereafter, he played professionally for theMiami Dolphins of the NFL. He is best known as a favorite passing target of DolphinsquarterbacksBob Griese andDan Marino. Nat Moore is also credited as football consultant in the 1977 movieBlack Sunday.
Moore was born inTallahassee, Florida in 1951.[1] He grew up inMiami, Florida and attendedMiami Edison Senior High School andMiami-Dade Community College.[2]
On the recommendation of his junior college football coach, Moore received an athletic scholarship to transfer from the University of Tennessee at Martin to theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a starrunning back for coachDoug Dickey'sGators teams in1972 and1973.[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-teamAll-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and honorable mentionAll-American accolades.[3]
Moore graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in exercise and sport science in 1975, and he was inducted into theUniversity of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978.[4][5] In a 2006 article series published byThe 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]
Moore was chosen by theMiami Dolphins in the third round (78th pick overall) of the1974 NFL draft,[7] and he played for the Dolphins for 13 seasons from1974 to1986.[1] He was elected to thePro Bowl in1977,[8] after a season in which he made 52receptions and led the league with 12 receivingtouchdowns (he also had a rushing touchdown that year).[2] Moore is immortalized in the famous "Helicopter Catch" video clip—while making a reception against theNew York Jets atGiants Stadium in1984, 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 of1986, his 13th season with the Dolphins, he had broken almost every receiving record of the Dolphins; his team records, however, were subsequently broken by teammatesMark Clayton andMark 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]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| 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 |
| 1980 | 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 | |
Moore is also known for his humanitarian work and philanthropy. In1984, 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 theByron White Humanitarian Award in 1986. He created The Nat Moore Foundation, an organization through which he continues to work with disadvantaged youths in theMiami-Dade County area, in 1998.
On December 5, 1999, he was added to theMiami Dolphins Honor Roll.
Moore was a footballbroadcaster for Florida Gators football games onSun 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.
