An extraordinary two-sport athlete, Robinson Moore ’77
excelled in a pair of demanding sports and, in the process, left an
indelible mark on the history of Bowdoin athletics.
A native of New Hampton, New Hampshire, Rob Moore graduated from
the New Hampton School, where he stood out on the soccer and
lacrosse fields. He carried those talents to Bowdoin, where he
immediately saw playing time for the Polar Bears.
Moore was encouraged to attend Bowdoin by lacrosse coach Mortimer
LaPointe, and the coach utilized his talents at midfield and attack
for the Polar Bears. Against Nichols College in 1976, Moore tied
the school mark with eight goals and ten points, highlighting a
season in which he finished second on the team with forty-four
points.
Although recruited for lacrosse, it was on the soccer pitch that
Moore shone brightest. He was one of the first freshmen in the
history of the College to be allowed to forego Freshmen Soccer and
go directly to the varsity. He paced the team in scoring as a
sophomore in 1974, scoring nine goals and three assists. His
twenty-one-point season garnered him honorable mention All-New
England. In 1975, he led the Polar Bears in points again, notching
a team-high eight goals and three assists. His efforts were
rewarded with First-Team All-New England honors as the Polar Bears
posted consecutive winning campaigns for the first time in a
decade.
In 1976, Moore suffered an injury that sidelined him for seven
games, but made his statistics all-the-more impressive. In just six
contests, he scored ten goals to place second on the team in
scoring, captaining the best men’s soccer team in school
history to a 10-2-1 overall record. Despite the abbreviated season,
Moore claimed First-Team All-New England honors as the Polar Bears
won the Sampson Trophy, recognizing New England’s top
Division II team.
Despite playing just forty-two career games, Moore still ranks
among the all-time leaders in scoring at Bowdoin. He stands in the
top ten in single-season goals, career goals, career assists, and
career points.
In December of 1976, Moore was drafted to play professionally by
the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League.
He decided to forego spring semester at Bowdoin to go to Florida
and join the Strikers. He signed later that same season with the
Connecticut Bicentennials. Moore returned to Brunswick in the fall
of 1977 to finish his college career, and had the opportunity to
coach the junior varsity men’s soccer team at the
College.
Rob and his wife, Laura, live in Groton, Massachusetts, where he is
assistant head of school and responsible for external affairs at
Lawrence Academy. He stays active in soccer by running the Lawrence
Academy Soccer Camp and by playing in the Greater Boston
men’s soccer league. The Moores have three children, one of
whom, Grace of the Class of 2008, matched her father’s feats
by becoming one of the finest female athletes in school history,
appropriately excelling in soccer and lacrosse for the Polar Bears.
