MOORE, Archibald Lee ("Archie")

(b. 13 December 1913 in Benoit, Mississippi; d. 9 December 1998 in San Diego, California), light-heavyweight boxing champion from 1952 to 1962, during a career that spanned almost thirty years; elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1966.

Moore, who was born Archibald Lee Wright, claimed a birth date of 13 December 1916, although other sources— including his mother, Lorena Wright—indicated the year was 1913. Characteristically, Moore quipped that his mother was probably the more reliable source with a better memory of the event and that he must have been three years old when he was born. Moore's mother separated from his father, a farm worker named Thomas Wright, when Moore was an infant. Sent to live with his aunt Willie Pearl Moore and her husband, Cleveland, young Archie adopted the surname Moore to prevent confusion among their St. Louis neighbors. The couple was devoted to Moore and his sister and eventually took in their two half-brothers as well.

During Moore's teenage years, his beloved sister tragically died in childbirth and his Uncle Cleveland suffered a fatal injury shortly thereafter. Stricken by the losses, Moore earned a reputation as a troublesome gang member and street fighter by the time he entered Lincoln High School in St. Louis. After his arrest for stealing fares from a streetcar, Moore was sentenced to a three-year term at the Missouri Training School, of which he served twenty-two months. His time in reform school turned out to be productive; there he decided to become a professional boxer, started to train in earnest, and soon became a well-known personality.

Joining the Civilian Conservation Corps after his release, Moore continued to practice his boxing skills and organized tournaments in his Poplar Bluff, Missouri, camp. He also boxed in a number of amateur matches before his professional debut in 1936. His first thirteen opponents went down for the count, and the five-foot, eleven-inch Moore established a reputation as a powerful fighter. In 1938 he relocated to San Diego, which was his home base for the rest of his life. He married Mattie Chapman in 1940—the first of five marriages for the athlete. That same year Moore went on his first international tour, appearing in a series of bouts in Australia. Although the experience taught him to take a more active role in managing his own career, his extended absence contributed to the breakup of his first marriage.

While Moore was well on his way to getting a chance at a title fight in the light-heavyweight division, a series of illnesses kept him sidelined for almost a year. Recovering from surgery for a perforated ulcer, Moore slipped a metal license plate inside his high-waisted foul cup to keep his opponents from aggravating the injury and reentered the ring in 1942. Despite an impressive string of victories, however, Moore did not get a chance at the title for another ten years. After a vigorous letter-writing campaign to sports editors across the country, Moore finally got his title fight with Joey Maxim on 17 December 1952 in St. Louis, which he won by a unanimous decision.

By then in his forties, Moore set his sights on the world heavyweight crown held by Rocky Marciano. A study in contrasts when they met for the bout in Yankee Stadium on 21 September 1955, Marciano's raw slugging outpowered Moore's more deliberate approach, which relied on quick punches and a cross-armed defensive posture that earned him the nickname "The Old Mongoose" after the fast-acting animal. Although Moore lost the fight by a knockout in the ninth round, he later claimed that Marciano benefited from a long count after being knocked down in the second round. After Marciano's retirement, Moore fought Floyd Patterson in Chicago for the title in 1956; Moore went down by a knockout in the fifth round.

Moore's most memorable bout came with his defense of the light-heavyweight title against Canadian Yvon Durelle in Montreal on 10 December 1958. Moore was knocked down three times in the first round and again in the fifth before slowly wearing down his opponent. In round seven, Moore flattened Durelle for a count of three; the Canadian went down again in the tenth round and twice more in the following round, when he went down for a knockout. As Moore's 127th career knockout, it set a record for the most knockout victories and earned him the honor of Fighter of the Year from the Boxing Writers Association. Moore knocked Durelle out again in their rematch the following year, and he held the light-heavyweight title until 1962, when it was taken away from him for staying out of the ring for a prolonged period. Moore was named to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1966.

In 1955 Moore entered into his fifth marriage, to Joan Hardy. The couple had two daughters and three sons. The Moores also adopted a son, and Moore had two other children as well. With his appearance in the 1960 movie The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in which he played a leading role as Jim, the fugitive slave, and the publication of his autobiography the same year, Moore's public profile exceeded that of almost any other boxer. After his last fight in 1965 Moore devoted himself to philanthropic work with disadvantaged youth, using boxing as a method to teach them self-discipline and determination. For his efforts Moore received numerous philanthropic distinctions, and in 1981 he was appointed by President Ronald W. Reagan to the Project Build program to bring sports programs to public housing residents. Moore also continued to train boxers, most notably George Foreman, whom he accompanied on his legendary 1974 fight against Muhammad Ali in Zaire.

With an estimated 194 victories in 228 fights—141 wins by knockout—Moore's career span was one of the longest in professional boxing. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Moore thrived during his postprofessional career as a trainer and philanthropist, and he was respected for his wit and integrity as well as his dedication to the sport. Moore's death from heart failure in San Diego brought numerous tributes that hailed him as a one-of-a-kind personality with an unparalleled career. He is buried at Cypress View Memorial Gardens in San Diego.

Moore's autobiography, The Archie Moore Story (1960), recounts his active career as a boxer. He also wrote Any Boy Can: The Archie Moore Story (1971), with Leonard B. Pearl, which covers much of the same ground, with the addition of his work as a philanthropist. Marilyn Green Douroux, Archie Moore—The Old Mongoose: The Authorized Biography of Archie Moore, Undefeated Light-Heavyweight Champion of the World (1991), provides an account of Moore's life through various sketches and includes numerous personal photographs and documents. An interview with Moore is included in Peter Heller, In This Corner: Forty-two World Champions Tell Their Stories (expanded and updated, 1994). The numerous tributes to Moore upon his death include portraits by Michael Hirsley, Chicago Tribune (10 Dec. 1998); Michael Katz, New York Daily News (10 Dec. 1998); Bill Lyon, Philadelphia Inquirer (11 Dec. 1998); Dave Kindred, Sporting News (21 Dec. 1998); and George Plimpton, Sports Illustrated (21 Dec. 1998).

Timothy Borden