One of the dominant pitchers in the 1980s, Moore became an outstanding pitcher through hard work and determination after joining a team in his hometown of Butte Falls, OR. “At 135 pounds back then, I was too small to play football but played baseball,” said Moore.”After the baseball season, some of the guys got up this softball team so I joined them and played shortstop. That was back in the summer of 1973.” It was in the Medford gym the following winter where Moore started to learn how to pitch. “I was just catching for this top pitcher on our alumni team and he showed me how to throw a drop, rise and change-up,”said Moore.”I worked on it most of the winter and the next summer they let me pitch in the later innings and a few games. Things just developed from there.” Gradually Moore improved and by 1980 he was one of the top pitchers at the Class A Level. That year he earned the MVP Award in the ASA National Championship in Oswego, NY, compiling a 5-2 record with 58 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.09. For the year, Moore was 40-20 with three no-hitters and 10 shutouts. After the Class A Championship, some of the nation’s top Major teams, including the Clearwater, FL Bombers and Peterbilt Western of Seattle, WA heard about Moore’s pitching prowess. He joined Peterbilt Western in 1981 and played Major level fast pitch continuously through 1992. Besides Peterbilt, he also played for Pay ‘N Pak, Northdurft Tool and Sea First Bank. In 1996 he was selected to the USA National Team, which for the first time in ASA history didn’t medal in an ISF Men’s World Championship, finishing fourth. Between 1981 and 1991, Moore participated in 11 ASA national championships and compiled a 31-8 record with an ERA of 0.77, striking out 380 batters in 263 2/3 innings. He was an ASA All-American six times (four first team, one second team and one third team), and was named the Outstanding Pitcher in the 1982, 1985 and 1986 ASA Men’s Major Fast Pitch Nationals. He was a member of three ASA national championship teams (1982, 1985-1986) and played in six U.S. Olympic Festivals. He is the winningest pitcher in Festival history (20-4) and fanned 186 batters in 163 2/3 innings with an ERA of 1.11. In 1985, he hurled the first perfect game in Festival history. Besides the 1996 ISF World Championship in Midland, he also appeared in the 1992 ISF World Championship in Manila and was 3-0 with 17 strikeouts in 15 innings. Said former Pay ‘n Pak manager Tom Wagner about Moore,”He was the best pitcher I ever saw at spotting the ball. He was a good leader and a great team player.” Moore is one of five former Pay ‘n Pak players elected to the Hall of Fame. He was born February 8, 1955.
