Moore elected to AHSCA HOF

Moore elected to AHSCA HOF

West Memphis and Earle legend to be honored

WM School District It is the year of Hall of Fame inductions for West Memphis' favorite son.

Grafton Moore, who made his mark as the Blue Devil head football coach for 22 years, will be inducted into not one, not two, but three Halls of Fame in 2016 and he's already gearing up his vocal chords for the speeches.

Moore recently got word that he will be inducted into the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame on July 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

He was announced as a member of the second class of inductees of the West Memphis Sports Hall of Fame, which will take place in September. And Moore will be inducted twice in the local Hall of Fame. He was a player for the 1963 Blue Devil football team, which will be inducted as well in September.

Moore was almost beyond words when he was informed about the AHSCA honor.

'I got the information all in one day and that was a little bit more than I could handle,' he said with a smile. 'I told my wife (Lynette) when I got home that God has blessed me in three ways. It was a great honor and shock at the same time.'

In 28 years as a high school football coach, Moore compiled a record of 209-81-1 with 9 state runners-up and three state championships. He coached in six high school all-star football games, one year as head coach, he won the Lowell Manning Award for coach of the year in Arkansas and he served as president of the Arkansas High School Coaches association.

'I've been blessed by being in the right place at the right time,' said Moore. 'I've had some great people who have been supportive. My philosophy about any individual award is that it's a team thing. It takes a lot of people to help you get there.'

Moore said it was especially an honor to be recognized by his peers.

'This is probably a little bit different,' he stated. 'It means you've earned statewide respect and it doesn't necessarily mean it speaks highly of me, but it speaks highly of our program in West Memphis. I had great athletes here, great coaches, great administration. It takes a lot of people.'

Among the inductees at the event in July will be one of Moore's good friends, Barry Lunney, who was a star football coach at Fort Smith Southside and Bentonville.

'I think the world of Barry,' Moore said. 'He ended my head coaching career when he beat me at Southside (in the 2000 state semifinals). I told him at the (inductees) meeting that I finally found a way to beat him. I outlasted him. He got a good laugh out of that one.'

Moore's decision to pursue a coaching career happened accidentally. He initially chose to major in journalism at Ole Miss, where he was a scholarship baseball player, and became a sports writer.

When he was asked to be a summer baseball coach in college, he was immediately drawn to the world of coaching.

Asked if he thought he would have become a Hall of Famer as a sports writer, Moore replied, 'Probably little to no chance of that happening.'

Other former Blue Devil coaches already in the state Hall of Fame include former football coach Lanny Dauksch, who succeeded Moore at West Memphis, who was inducted in 2015, and former basketball head coach Bill Terwilliger in 2006.

By Billy Woods