Joe-Max Moore

Early life

Moore was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Corey Moore and Carl Moore, an oil man and part-owner of the Tulsa Roughnecks. He moved to Irvine, California at age 14 and played four years of boys' soccer at Mission Viejo High School. He played NCAA soccer at UCLA, where he was a teammate of future national team players Brad Friedel, Chris Henderson, and Cobi Jones. He earned second-team All-American honors as a sophomore and first-team honors as a junior, leading the team in scoring in his final season. Over three years, he totaled 38 goals and 24 assists in 65 games. Moore was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame on October 11, 2014.

Career

In July 1994, the USSF loaned Moore to German Second Division club 1. FC Saarbrücken; he had been part of the U.S. team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup but did not play. Saarbrücken bought his contract for $250,000, and in his single season he led the club with 13 goals in 25 games. He was then transferred to fellow Second Division club 1.

FC Nürnberg, where he again led his team in scoring with eight goals. In 1996, MLS allocated Moore to the New England Revolution on July 24, replacing Giuseppe Galderisi. Moore finished the 1996 season as the team's inaugural scoring champion with 11 goals and 1 assist, and was named the Revolution's first Team MVP. He also became the first Revolution player named to the MLS Team of the Week.

He made his debut on July 27 in a 4–2 loss to the Kansas City Wizards and scored his first goal on July 31 with a brace against the San Jose Clash. Despite an injury-marred 1997 season (11 games, 4 goals), he became the club's all-time leading scorer, made the 1999 MLS All Star team, and was named Revolution Team MVP in 1998 and 1999, also finishing as scoring champion in 1999. In November–December 1997, he spent a month on loan from the Revs to Club Sport Emelec of the Ecuadorian First Division, joining Alexi Lalas. His success led him to return to Europe with Everton F.C. in the English FA Premier League.

National team

Moore was still in college when he started playing for the U.S. national team. In 1989, he played for the U-20 side that finished fifth at the World Youth Championship. Two years later, he netted the game-winner against Mexico to claim gold at the Pan American Games. He also suited up for the U.S. at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where the team went 1-1-1 and didn't get out of the group stage.

After that college season, he left UCLA early to sign a full-time contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation, skipping his senior year. His national team debut came on September 3, 1992, against Canada. Moore was on the 1994 World Cup roster but didn't play, then saw action in both the 1998 and 2002 tournaments. He became the sixth American to reach 100 caps, hitting that mark against Poland in the 2002 World Cup group finale.

His 24 goals place him seventh all-time for the U.S. On January 27, 2006, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Soccer Hall of Fame.