Kenny Moore, Oregon Olympian, Sports Illustrated writer and author, dies
Kenny Moore, the renowned Oregon distance runner, Olympian, Sports Illustrated writer and author, died Wednesday morning at age 78 at his home in Kailua, Hawaii.
The North Eugene High graduate went from a nondescript prep career to become a three-time all-American at Oregon for coach Bill Bowerman, eventually earning induction into the Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Ducks won back-to-back NCAA outdoor track titles in 1964 and 1965 with Moore a key contributor.
“We are deeply saddened by today’s news of the passing of UO distance great Kenny Moore,” the Oregon track and field twitter account posted Wednesday. “… Our thoughts and condolences to his family and friends. You’ll be missed, Kenny.”
Moore went on to a professional marathon career and competed at the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City, when he finished 14th, and in 1972 in Munich when he was fourth.
He also won the AAU cross country championship in 1967 and the U.S. marathon championship in 1971, as well as six straight San Francisco Bay to Breakers marathons, from 1968-1973
From 1971-95 Moore, who had a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Oregon, worked for Sports Illustrated and was a well-respected chronicler of track and field.
Moore also authored the 2006 book “Bowerman and the Men of Oregon,” the biography of his former coach and Nike co-founder.
Moore found success on the big screen as well. He co-wrote the screenplay for 1982 movie “Personal Best” with director Robert Towne and then wrote the screenplay for the 1998 movie “Without Limits” about iconic Oregon runner and close friend Steve Prefontaine that was filmed in Eugene.
Moore also made his mark off the track.
Moore served as the director of the Oregon Track Club, beginning in 1971, and from 1973-1980 he was a founding member of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Advisory Council and the co-editor of the Final Report of The President’s Commission on Olympic Sports, which resulted in the Amateur Athletic Act of 1978.
Moore was also the chairman of the Steve Prefontaine Foundation from 1976-1979 and was a member of the International Competition Committee of the Athletics Congress from 1977-1980.
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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Kenny Moore, Oregon Olympian, renowned journalist and author, dies
