A SHARED EXPERIENCE
Lenny Moore is proud of what he accomplished with the old Baltimore Colts. He’s proud to be in the Hall of Fame, proud that his peers named him the NFL’s most valuable player in 1964. And he’s certainly proud that his name has resurfaced this week, now that San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson has tied Moore’s 40-year-old record by scoring a touchdown in 18 consecutive games.
It’s just that Moore isn’t tied in knots about keeping a piece of the record. He isn’t even pulling hard for Philadelphia’s defense, which today will try to keep Tomlinson -- and the rest of the Chargers -- out of the end zone.
“Since they brought this thing alive and caused me to think about it, people are trying to get me excited about it,” said Moore, 71, a good-natured man who’s quick with a laugh. “I’m not real excited. If he breaks it, he breaks it. If he doesn’t, that’s cool. I can hang out a little longer.”
Moore, a first-round pick of the Colts in 1956, was a combination flanker-halfback and the favorite target of Johnny Unitas. He set the touchdown record in 1965, yet he was barely aware of it. He can recall hearing about it just once, when he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and a teammate congratulated him for keeping the touchdown streak alive.
“Nobody even talked about the record,” he said. “All we did is play football, man. Even Johnny U. didn’t know about some of his records. He was just worried about moving the ball down the field.”
That’s not to say Moore won’t pay attention to what’s happening in Philadelphia today. He said he has enjoyed the attention he received this week, especially from the kids he counsels in his job with the Maryland State Department of Juvenile Justice. That he played in the NFL resonates with them, no matter what the era. Some of them have even conjured him up in football video games.
“I’ve heard about that,” he said. “I’m not hip to the video games, but they tell me, ‘Oh, yeah, we’ve used you in the game.’ ”
One of the things that Moore finds most pleasing is that Tomlinson is widely regarded as a respectful young man with a sense of social responsibility. In keeping with his personality, Tomlinson is far more interested in the big picture than he is on claiming a piece of NFL history.
“I don’t want to say that it’s not important, but at the same time, it’s just not a main focus for me,” Tomlinson said in a conference call with reporters. “This is not something that I really want to do, it just kind of came about as I continue to play each week, and the record just kind of creeped up on me.”
Tomlinson is widely regarded as the league’s best running back, and perhaps best player. The Eagles know the type of damage he can do, and they know they’ll have to shore up a lot of holes to stop him. Philadelphia’s defense is ranked 23rd against the run and in the last two games has allowed a total of 311 yards rushing.
“He’s got great vision, he sees the hole, he knows when to cut, and he’s got that excellent quickness,” Eagle defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. “He’s just one of those natural running backs, like Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders. He’s one of the best you’ll ever see.”
While Tomlinson is toiling in Philadelphia, Moore will be home in Randallstown, Md., a suburb of Baltimore. Maybe he can catch up on some chores. He has some old game balls piled up downstairs -- sacred mementos to some players, just old pigskins to Moore -- and he needs to put them away for safekeeping.
“My wife wants me to do it,” he said. “She needs to dust.”
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Running it up
Some say San Diego Charger running back LaDainian Tomlinson is the best player in football. His numbers since entering the league in 2001 make a case for such recognition. His career statistics (NFL ranks since 2001):
Rushing yards...6,551 (1)
* Yards from scrimmage...8,742 (1)
* Rushing touchdowns...64 (3)
* Rushing first downs...338 (2)
* 10-plus-yard rushes...174 (2)
* 100-plus-yard rushing games...26 (T1)
Source: STATS LLC
