HOF Mail Bag - Lenny Moore

Lenny, Are there any modern day running backs playing today that remind you of yourself? - Everret, Ventura, CA

I've been asked that question quite a few times and I don't know what I looked like. I mean that's kind of a hard thing for me to say because I only know what I looked like through what people tell me.

Lenny, where do you rank the Colts of your era among the all-time great teams in NFL history?

I don't know what the so-called all-time teams were in history. I knew that we were a fantastic ball club. What surprised me was like years after when I looked at the line-up and I saw all these guys; you know eight Hall of Famers in particular, on the same team, I was shocked. Because I didn't know to that degree, and that's probably why we were as good as we were because we probably didn't know that we were as good as we were. All the guys that we had, it was unbelievable and it was probably to our benefit that we didn't know that we were as good as we were.

Mr. Moore, A lot of people have compared LaDainian Tomlinson to you, partly because of the consecutive touchdown scoring streak and also because of his style. What is your opinion of LaDainian and do you agree with that perception? - Thanks, Mike J., Florence, MS

Like I said, again, I don't know what I looked like other than viewing films and if I was pleased I was pleased. But I did see LaDainian and he's a very talented youngster, believe me. I saw him do some things that only guys with God given ability can do. Just because you have talent and whatever, this guy's got talent plus I don't think he's used his full potential yet.

I don't want to bring up an uncomfortable subject, but can you comment on the early days of your career before the civil rights movement started to change things in America? Thanks. - Patrick

Sports is a microcosm of society so the things that were going on in society were the things that were happening within the various football clubs. There were hotels we couldn't stay in. There were restaurants we couldn't go to. There were places that just in general we couldn't go to because of our race.

And it was on-going until things started to change socially, then things started to change interim within the different ball clubs because we stayed limited in number in the '50s and early '60s and it didn't start to open up until after those movements and what have you.

Lenny, In your recent book, All Things Being Equal , you seem to downplay your role in the 1958 Championship Game. You state that you played injured and was primarily used as a decoy in the last two Colts drives first to put the game into overtime and then to score the winning touchdown. Yet you caught a critical third down pass for 11 yards to start the drive to put the game in overtime. Plus, in the classic picture of Ameche's game winning TD run, you can be seen making a key block to open up the big hole for Ameche to plunge through. You caught 5 passes for 99 yards and ran for another 24 yards, why downplay your role in that game? - Fred Shoken, Baltimore, Maryland

Well, I was injured. If (you) watched the game, I carried the ball very few times. Our game plan was to utilize me a little bit more in the running game.

As far as the different incidents that happened, you pulled yourself together, man, no matter how much you're hurting. And ball players during those days, many of them played hurt. So when those situations and things happen that's just a question of "Well in spite of that, if they called this play, I got to give it everything I got."

And it was the same thing on that blocking play, I think it was "17 or 16 Power" which means I go right up off of Jim Mutscheller and anything coming in is my man. The block happened to be on the great Emlen Tunnell and I was very, very pleased with (my block). Like I said man, everybody played hurt but I was really hurt, in fact to the point I went to the coach and told him "I don't know whether I can go or not" and he said 'Just keep it quiet we won't say anything to anybody' he says 'and I'll try to use you a little bit more in the wide receiving position so that you can occupy some people which will bring an automatic single coverage on Raymond Berry . It'll help open up on that other side.' And that's what we did.