Leonard Edward Moore (born November 25, 1933) is an American former professional football player who played both halfback and flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts from 1956 to 1967. He played college football for Penn State Nittany Lions. He was named the NFL Rookie of the Year in 1956 and was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times. Moore was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975.
Early years
Moore was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and had exceptional athletic ability. He attended Reading High School, where his speed on the field earned him the nicknames "The Reading Rocket", "The Reading Rambler", "Lightning Lenny" (for his unmatched speed); and "Spats" (for the way he taped his high-top shoes, making them look like low-tops, and one of the first to expose tapings outside the shoes).
College
Moore’s speed and athletic ability earned him a football scholarship at Pennsylvania State University; when he enrolled in the fall of 1952 he was the first individual in his family to attend college. In an era before freshmen were allowed to play in games and "redshirt" status did not exist, he achieved great success in three seasons on the Nittany Lions varsity, scoring 24 touchdowns in 27 games. Moore finished as Penn State’s all-time leader in 100-rushing yard games (12), rushing yards (2,380), all-purpose yards (3,543), and single-season all-purpose yards (1,486 in 1954).
NFL
Moore's achievements at Penn State did not go unnoticed by scouts from the NFL, and he was taken by the Colts ninth overall in the 1956 draft.
Moore was both a great runner and receiver, lining up in the backfield as a halfback and split wide as a flanker, and was equally dangerous at both positions in the Colts' offense run by quarterback Johnny Unitas. Moore averaged at least seven yards per carry in three seasons, and has a career average of 4.8 yards per carry. He had 40 receptions for 687 yards and seven touchdowns in 1957, the first of five years in which he would have 40 or more catches. In an era of pounding running games, Moore was a glimpse of things to come in the NFL, with a career average of 30 receptions per year out of the backfield.
During his rookie season in 1956, Moore established himself as one of the most well-rounded runners and receivers in the league, and won the NFL Rookie of the Year award. In 1958, he caught a career-high 50 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns in helping the Colts win the NFL championship. In 1959, Moore had 47 receptions for 846 yards and six touchdowns as the Colts repeated as champions.
Moore injured his knee in 1962 and lost his starting job in 1963. He rebounded in 1964 with his greatest overall season, scoring 20 touchdowns and helping to lead the Colts to a 12–2 regular-season record and a trip to the NFL Championship Game for the third time in seven years. He was named Comeback Player of the Year and voted Most Valuable Player by his fellow players, remarkable achievements considering he'd played most of the season with complications from appendicitis, and reinforcing his reputation as one of the toughest players in the NFL.
Moore scored a touchdown in an NFL-record 18 consecutive appearances starting in 1963 and continuing through the entire 1964 season, ending in 1965. This record stood for 40 years until being equaled by LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005. Because his streak was interrupted by a five-game absence due to injury in 1963, he does not hold the NFL record for scoring a touchdown in a team's consecutive games, only in games which he appeared.
Race and football
Moore faced the difficult task of being an African American in the NFL during the 1950s and 1960s. Most teams averaged about six African American players on their roster during his time in the league. His race also came into question after his retirement in 1968 when he was not given a long-term contract with CBS Television, ending his attempt to be the first black sports broadcaster for CBS.
Moore occasionally speaks to student groups about his experiences as a black football player during an era when, in the words of Baltimore Sun sportswriter Rick Maese, "Moore could travel with his teammates but couldn't always eat in the same restaurant, couldn't always stay at the same hotel, couldn't always fraternize with them the same way out of the locker room as he had in it."