Brian Moore

Brian McGowan Moore (29 December 1933 – 8 September 2006) was an association football player from Northern Ireland who played as an inside forward in the Football League for West Ham United.

Career

Born in Belfast, Moore began his career at Glentoran and had been a youth international. He joined Distillery in August 1953. He earned one representative cap with the Irish League XI, against the Football League XI at Anfield on 20 October 1954. He moved to England and joined Second Division club West Ham United in February 1955. West Ham paid a fee of £3000 and also agreed to play home and away friendly fixtures against the Belfast club.

After making his debut in a friendly against Austrian club Simmering on 19 February 1955, a match that the Hammers won 8–2, Moore was involved in the first match to be televised live from Upton Park, in another friendly against Rotterdam side Holland Sports Club on 22 March. The match against Distillery in Belfast, on 28 March, represented the first time West Ham had travelled to Northern Ireland. Moore was made captain for the game, which ended 2–2. In the return fixture at Upton Park, Moore scored in a 7–5 victory for West Ham.

Moore made his League debut on the final day of the 1954–55 season, a 1–1 draw against Nottingham Forest on 2 May 1955. He then made nine League appearances for West Ham during the 1955–56 season and also played in the finals of the Essex Professional Cup and London Challenge Cup, before an injury ended his professional career. Moore was hit in the face with the ball, leaving him virtually blind in one eye.

The club awarded Moore a testimonial match, jointly with Geoff Hallas, who had also seen his career cut short through injury earlier in the season. The match featured a number of big names in the All Star XI team, such as Jimmy Scoular, Cliff Holton, Roy Paul and Trevor Ford, and also included former West Ham players Harry Hooper and Eric Parsons. Proceeds for the match were due to be halved between the two players, totalling £991 11s 3d from gate receipts and £15 0s 3d from donations for each player. However, a dispute between Moore and his former club, due to his subsequent registration with Cambridge United, meant that he received only £500.