Cagers Pearl Moore and Robert Moore named first inductees into FMC Athletic Hall of Fame

Francis Marion College officials have announced that two Pee Dee area natives will be the first inductees into the newly formed FMC Athletic Hall of Fame.  The two honorees will be women's basketball player Pearl Moore, originally from Florence, and men's basketball player Robert Moore, a native of Cheraw, S.C.

Induction ceremonies will take place during the Homecoming basketball doubleheader, Saturday, Feb. 15, 1992, in the Smith College Center.

Pearl Moore was a four-time All-American during the years 1975-79.  The 5'7" guard-forward still holds the women's college basketball career scoring record with 4,061 points.  After earning a B.S. degree in sociology in 1979, she played several years of professional basketball, both in the United States and overseas.

Currently residing in Spartanburg, S.C., Moore received numerous honors during her four years at Francis Marion and she still holds many Lady Patriot basketball records.  Following her record setting senior season, she was honored as a "Palmetto Lady" by then South Carolina Governor Dick Riley, and March 26, 1979 was designated as "Pearl Moore Day" in Florence.    She was also named a "Kentucky Colonel" by the state of Kentucky after she broke the career scoring record in her final game, played in Louisville, Ky.  Moore was also named the 1979 Small College "Player of the Year" by the American Women's Sports Foundation.

Other highlights of her career included a record setting 60-point single-game performance in the 1978 AIAW Small College National Tournament, hosted by Francis Marion, and in 1976, following her freshman year, she survived all but the final cut at the United States Olympic Team tryouts.  As a freshman, she averaged 26.8 points per game, followed by averages of 31.7 ppg, 33.6 ppg, and 31.1 ppg each of the next three years.  During Pearl's four years, the Lady Patriots recorded an 85-42 record and advanced to post-season play each year.

Robert Moore lettered in basketball for three years (1977-1980) at Francis Marion after transferring to FMC as a sophomore.  In only those three seasons, the 6'5" forward scored 1,330 points and grabbed 613 rebounds.  He was twice named the NAIA District Six "Player of the Year" (1979 and 1980) and was selected to the NAIA second-team All-America squad following his senior campaign.

He graduated magna cum laude from Francis Marion in 1980 with a B.S. degree in biology and later earned his M.D. degree from the Medical University of South Carolina.  He now works with the Pee Dee Orthopedic Associates, P.A., in Florence and also serves as the Patriots' team doctor.

A member of the Florence Medical Society, Moore still owns the Patriot single-season records for most points, rebounds, free throws, and games scoring in double figures.  He was selected to the District Six All-Academic Team all three years, was named to the 1980 first-team All-State squad, and helped lead the Patriots to a 62-27 overall record and three straight district playoff appearances.  Following his career, Moore was named to the FMC All-Decade Team for the 1970s and the District Six 15th Anniversary Team, which was announced in 1983.

As a student, Moore was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Alpha Christos Omega.

Both Moores were named to Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities and both had their uniform numbers retired upon completion of their careers.