MOUNDSVILLE — Harry Moore. He was best known as “Moo.”

Moore is an Ohio Valley basketball legend who is unknown to many people today. That is not surprising as he graduated Moundsville High way back in 1948.

Moore died this past Tuesday at age 89. His basketball exploits, however, will live forever.

Moore’s prep greatness with the Trojans earned the 6-2 guard a hoop scholarship to WVU, where he enjoyed a career that earned him a spot into the WVU Athletic Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the Mountaineer shrine in 2007 while six years later he was enshrined into the OVAC Hall of Fame.

Moore poured in 1,700 points for Moundsville High, including a Trojan single-game record of 54 tallies. He was a first-team, one-class all-state selection as a senior and was twice a first-team All-OVAC largest Class AA honoree.

Moore help guide the Trojans to a 15-2 mark in 1948 and a 19-3 record in 1946 as they advanced to the regional finals. His Marshall County success laid the foundation for a stellar career at WVU.

He was a mainstay on three WVU varsity teams. During that span, the Mountaineers amassed a 60-20 record, including a Southern Conference regular season and tournament championship in 1950.

Moore started 20 of 27 games as a junior, averaging seven points per game, helping WVU capture the Southern Conference regular season title with a 23-4 record. As a senior, the 6-2 center averaged 12.8 ppg and recorded 158 rebounds while being tabbed honorable mention All-America.

Ed Pastilong is a former WVU quarterback as well as serving as the Mountaineers’ athletic director from 1989-2010. He is also a Moundsville High grad who knew Moore quite well while growing up.

“In Marshall County, we youngsters always looked up to Moo. He always had time for everyone. I recall the basketball courts in Glen Dale and Moundsville with Moo always being the organizer and a gentleman. He was always considerate with everyone,” Pastilong said. “That always stuck with him later in life. He always had time for people. Moo was very pleasant with a good personality.

“I was the athletic director when we inducted Moo into the WVU Hall of Fame. It was so nice to have an Ohio Valley athlete inducted,” he added. “The Hall of Fame activities gave us time to reflect back and recall the glory days. Everyone knew Moo because of his athleticism and personality. He was a great player and great man.”

Moore is in the WVU hoop record book via his 84 percent career free throw percentage which ranks No. 2 all-time in school history.

“Moo and Bob Hummell will always be the basketball standards at Moundsville High School. They were both excellent shooters — Bob as a guard and Moo as a frontcourt player who played forward at WVU,” Doug Huff, former sports editor at The Intelligencer, said. “When WVU played its scrimmage game at WesBanco Arena, Moo attended despite some physical limitations and was introduced to the crowd. Bob Huggins made it a point to personally greet Moo. I remember talking with Moo at WesBanco Arena before he was inducted into the OVAC HOF and he was honored and humbled to be remembered and recognized.”

After his sparkling tenure in Morgantown, Moore was chosen in the sixth round of the 1952 NBA draft by the Syracuse Nationals (now the Philadelphia 76ers). He did not play for the Nats, however, as he served in the Army infantry as a lieutenant from 1953-55. In 1954, Moore was selected to play in the Armed Forces Pan-Am games in Mexico and International Games in Germany.

The WVU Sports Information office released the following statement,

“On behalf of WVU Athletics and all of Mountaineer Nation, we are saddened to learn of the passing of Mountaineer Hall of Famer Harry “Moo” Moore. Moo was a standout on the basketball court and played in three of the most successful seasons in school history from 1950-52. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Moore family during this time.”

BUBBA’S BITS

A TIE is said to be like kissing your sister but for the Browns it shows drastic improvement. The Brownies could have packed it in, trailing the Steelers by two TDs. I realize they had a chance to win at the end of OT, however, I believe most Cleveland fans would have been happy with a tie prior to kickoff.

SPEAKING OF the NFL, several teams played poorly, none more than the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills. Moreover, Jon Gruden doesn’t look like the answer in Oakland.

MARISSA WIERZBICKI was recently named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The Ohio Dominican goalkeeper recorded 10 saves in shutout wins over Walsh and Malone. The talented senior was a first-team all-conference honoree last season. Marissa is the daughter of former Bridgeport High great Ted Wierzbicki while her mom, the former MaLinda Galich, was a track sprint star at St. John Central.

FORMER BETHANY College athletic director Brian Rose is now the director of athletics and recreation at Westmoreland Community College.

THE WEATHER-RELATED cancellation of the WVU-North Carolina State game is disappointing to Mountaineer fans as this may be a dream season unfolding in Morgantown. It also slows the Will Grier Heisman Trophy showcasing. The good news is N.C. State may have been the second toughest game on the WVU slate, next to Oklahoma. The Big 12 has been less than impressive with Texas losing to Maryland, Iowa State putting up just three points in a loss to Iowa and Kansas State losing at home to Mississippi State. The schedule sets up quite nicely for WVU.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T had a rare weekend off. After three games, Wheeling Park’s Elijah Bell leads the unbeaten Aggies with 11 catches for 110 yards and two TDS. The talented junior is a two-time All-MEAC selection wile earning the 2016 MEAC Rookie of the Year award. He is on track to own virtually every A&T receiving record.