Herman Moore

By Brad Berreman
Love of Sports Correspondent

For a stretch of years in the 1990s, Detroit Lion wide receiver Herman Moore put up numbers in line with the best the NFL had to offer.

Unfortunately, because he played on some mediocre teams in the Motor City, he probably really never got the accolades he deserved.

Moore was the Lions’ first round pick in 1991 after a stellar collegiate career at the University of Virginia.

Starting in 1994, he made four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances. From 1995-97, he had 100 or more catches each season.

Moore had 123 receptions in he 1995 season, which was the NFL single-season record at the time. Those catches went for 1,686 yards and 14 touchdowns. The next year, he’d catch 106 passes for 1,296 yards and nine touchdowns.

In 1997, he topped 100 receptions one more time with 104 for 1.293 yards and eight scores.

After those excellent peak seasons, Moore started to catch the injury bug. After ‘97, he’d never again top 1,000 yards in a season, play in all 16 games or catch more than 82 passes.

He’d remain with the Lions through the 2001 season before signing with the New York Giants for his final year. However, he only played a combined four games in those final two years.

During 12 seasons in the NFL, Moore totaled 670 receptions, 9,174 yards and 62 touchdowns. He was recently inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, in 2008, and remains a part of football in the state of Michigan, working in the front office of the Arena Football League’s Grand Rapids Rampage after serving as the team’s radio color commentator in 2007.

So, in recognition of one of the NFL’s biggest cases of “what might have been?,” here’s some Old School Love to Herman Moore!