Raiders TE Moore Took a Big Hit in Pittsburgh

In the illustrious history of the Las Vegas Raiders there are a myriad of plays that stand out, but none more punishing than what hit TE Bob Moore

Bob Moore was the starting tight end for the Oakland Raiders in between franchise legends Raymond Chester and Dave Casper.

The 6-3, 220-pound Moore was selected by the Raiders in the fifth round (No. 123 overall) of the 1971 National Football League Draft out of Stanford, after helping upset second-ranked Ohio State, 27-17, in the Rose Bowl as a senior with five receptions for 113 yards, including a great catch on 43-yarder that set up the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“That was the ball game,” legendary Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes said. “That mad dog pass to Moore should never have happened.”

Said Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett, the Rose Bowl MVP with 265 passing yards and another future star for the Raiders: “(Wide receiver) Randy Vataha was my primary receiver, but he was double or triple covered. I looked around for someone else open. Moore wasn’t open but he caught it anyway.”

Moore caught 105 passes for 1,540 yards, a 14.7-yard average, and 10 touchdowns in three seasons and is a member of the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame.

After sitting on the bench for two years in Oakland, Moore became the starter when the Raiders sent Chester to the Baltimore Colts for defensive end Bubba Smith, and in the next three seasons, he started every game and made 83 receptions for 906 yards and seven touchdowns.

Perhaps Moore’s best game as a Raiders came when he caught six passes for 57 yards and a 17-yard touchdown from quarterback Kenny Stabler in a 31-28 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in an American Football Conference divisional playoff game in 1975 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Unfortunately, longtime fans of Raider Nation remember that one of Moore’s most memorable moments with the Silver and Black came off the field.

The Raiders were in Pittsburgh for a 1972 wild card playoff game against the Steelers when Moore went to see a movie with his teammate, linebacker Greg Slough, the night before the game.

When Moore and Slough were walking back to the Hilton Hotel where the Raiders were staying, they were met by a hostile group of Steelers fans who had walked from downtown to hassle any players they could and things were getting out of hand.

Moore told a police officer that he played for the Raiders and needed to get to the hotel, but when the cop wouldn’t let him by, Moore tried to push his way past.

“We told them we were Raiders players, and then all hell broke loose,” said Moore, who was hit on the head by the policeman’s nightstick. “They beat me with their clubs and their fists. It was completely unprovoked on our part.”

Bleeding profusely from his head, Moore was taken to Mercy Hospital for treatment and five stitches were needed to close the head wound he was unable to play the next day, standing on the sideline with a large bandage wrapped around his head.

The police naturally downplayed the incident.

“All we know is that a man named Robert Moore of 7811 Oakport Road in Oakland, California, 23 years old, was hit over the head in front of the Pittsburgh Hilton,” a police spokesman said. “Charges might be filed if we find who hit the player. We have no idea how he was hurt.”

Read the headline in one Pittsburgh newspaper the next day: “Raiders Moore Gets Early Playoff Lumps.”

Of course, what happened the night before was forgotten later in the day when Steelers running back Franco Harris caught a much-disputed 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Terry Bradshaw that became known as “The Immaculate Reception” with five seconds left in the game.

That gave the Steelers a 13-7 victory, making the Raiders and their fans feel like they had been hit on the head.

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