Long before the high octane offenses and Nike-led fashion ensembles, the Oregon Ducks were considered a minor footnote in the college football world. And while watching one of the nation’s most dominant programs every Saturday filled with National Championship aspirations while being led by Heisman Trophy candidates year after year, its hard to fathom that at one point this team struggled to even reach .500. In a time period spanning 15 years (1965-1979) the Ducks achieved a winning record only three times. Two of those seasons were because of the original Duck Dodger, Bobby Moore, now more famously known as Ahmad Rashad.
Bobby Moore stepped onto the Oregon campus as a wide receiver, and was described as the best athlete to ever be recruited by the university. To take advantage of his skill and raw abilities, the team decided to move Moore to running back following his sophomore season in 1969. What ensued was the growth of one of the best running backs ever to play at Oregon.
In his two years with the program, Moore amassed 2,333 rushing yards to go along with over 1,500 receiving yards, a mark that still ranks in the top 10 of the Ducks’ all-purpose yards list.
In his senior season Moore earned All-American honors as he rushed for over 1,200 yards, including a 249-yard performance against Utah that was an Oregon single-game record at the time. He was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
And as a side note, I would be remiss if I did not include one of televisions' most awkward marriage proposals courtesy of Ahmad to Phylicia Ayers-Allen aka "Claire Huxtable" during a Thanksgiving day broadcast.
