FAYETTEVILLE — Billy Moore, the University of Arkansas’ first All-American quarterback, passed away on Thursday in Little Rock at age 84.
Moore, a dual-threat quarterback and the starter from 1960-62, earned All-American honors from the Football Writers Association of America in 1962. The Little Rock native led the Southwest Conference in rushing that season with 585 yards, passed for 673 yards and scored a then school-record 14 touchdowns.
As a senior, Moore was a captain for a 9-2 Arkansas team that was ranked No. 6 nationally and lost to No. 3 Ole Miss 17-13 in the Sugar Bowl.
Moore, part of legendary Arkansas coach Frank Broyles’ first recruiting class for the Razorbacks, was inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Honor in 1996 and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2014. The Razorbacks went 25-8 during Moore’s three seasons, won two Southwest Conference championships and played in the Sugar Bowl twice and the Cotton Bowl once.
“We’re going to miss Billy,” said Harold Horton, a former Arkansas player and assistant coach and Razorback Foundation administrator who was Moore’s teammate for three seasons. “He was the type of quarterback that won championships.
”We knew we’d been on the verge of losing him the last couple years, but he stood in there and fought it as long as he could.”
Ken Hatfield, the former Arkansas coach and standout safety and punt returner, was a sophomore when Moore was a senior.
“Billy was a heck of a Razorback and he was a great leader,” Hatfield said. “He played in the old days where you played both ways. He was the quarterback and also the starting free safety. He was one tough hombre, I’m telling you.”
Hatfield recalled that during Moore’s senior season, the coaching staff began calling plays on offense rather than leaving it to Moore because he was so unselfish.
“Back then the quarterback usually called the plays after meeting with the offensive coordinator and went over game situations. But when we got down close to the goal line, Billy was wanting to give the ball to the fullback or somebody else, even though he was the main reason we’d gotten the ball down there,” Hatfield said. “The coaches knew the best play was a call for Billy to carry the ball, but it just wasn’t in his makeup to call his own number. So they had to send in the plays for him to run the ball himself.”
Moore was back in the news 15 seasons ago when two of his Arkansas records went down in the same game during an offensive assault in the Hogs’ 63-27 win over Eastern Michigan in 2009 on Halloween night in Bobby Petrino’s second season as head coach.
In that game, Broderick Green had a 99-yard touchdown run to break Moore’s school record run, a 90-yard scoring run in a 42-14 win over Tulsa in 1962.
In the same game, quarterback Ryan Mallett completed 14 of 16 passes for 87.5% completions to surpass Moore’s 85.7% completions (12 of 14) in the same game against Tulsa in 1962.
Moore, speaking to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette a couple of days after that game in 2009, was in good spirits after having his records eclipsed and related a humorous story about the incident.
Moore, who attended most of the Razorback home games during that time, said he was watching the game that night with friends, including UA teammate Jim Mooty, at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock. He had stepped out for a couple of minutes and Green reeled off his 99-yard play during that time.
“I came back in and they said, ‘Billy, your name was just on TV,’ and I said, ‘For what?’ ” Moore told the Democrat-Gazette, laughing.
“They just broke your 90-yard record,” Mooty told his friend.
Moore’s long run against Tulsa came on a broken play, when Billy Joe Mooty had gone the wrong way.
Moore was very diplomatic about Green and Mallett taking down his marks.
“The boy deserves it,” Moore said of Green. “It was a great run. I never dreamed that (his 90-yard record) would last this long, to tell you the truth.”
Moore was also made aware that Green was also a Little Rock native.
“I congratulate the young man,” Moore told the Democrat-Gazette. “That means Little Rock boys have the longest run and the second-longest run. I saw a playback of it. Let me say this, his run was a lot prettier than mine.”
Also speaking in 2009, Jim Mooty discussed Moore’s impact for the Razorbacks, who lost only one regular-season game in 1062, Broyles’ fifth season at Arkansas.
“Billy has a way,” Mooty said. “Old No. 10. He didn’t have great speed, wasn’t the best passer, he just always got the job done.
Broyles also paid a tribute to Moore’s long run and his legacy as a Razorback.
“Billy had to change things around on his long run, and I think that will stay forever the longest run by a quarterback. And he deserves it because he’s the best runner we ever had for a quarterback.
“The other players loved him because he could perform. He didn’t just hand it off. He’d run and be just as tough as a fullback.”
Hatfield said Moore was the perfect quarterback to play for Broyles.
”When Billy came here, he was the ideal leader that Coach Broyles wanted,” Hatfield said. “He was tough as boot leather and he was a team man. He had played for Coach (Wilson) Matthews at Little Rock Central. So he’d been in a lot of big games in high school.
“Billy was fun to be around. He was jovial, he’d cut up, but the boy could play football, I’m telling you.”
After his football days, Moore became the first manager of Shakey’s Pizza Parlor in the Riverdale area of Little Rock, and also worked in oil, gas and insurance before operating a billboard company prior to his retirement.
“Billy was a good man, and a great Razorback,” Hatfield said. “He’ll be missed, but I guarantee you he’ll be remembered by the Razorback fans.”