Longtime SHS scorekeeper 'loved every second of it'

SANDPOINT — This fall, when the Friday night lights of Barlow Stadium are lit up and the 2010 season gets underway, one team will kick off, the other will receive, and the head referee will wind his arm to signify the start of the clock.

For the first time in more than half a century, someone other than Bobby Moore will be the one running that scoreboard clock. Moore, who operated the clock at Bulldog football games for 54 years and the clock at Bulldog basketball games for another 34 years, passed away last week.

To say Moore was part of the fabric of SHS athletics would be an understatement. For some perspective, he spent roughly 18 days of his life volunteering his time to run the clock at football and basketball games.

That’s more than 300 football games and 340 basketball games. It amounted to more than 2,500 quarters of action and 25,000 minutes of starting and stopping the clock. And he did it all for free, mostly out of a love for both sports and the local kids who played them.

“Just a great guy, so dedicated to the Sandpoint kids,” recalled Bob Witte, who announced many a basketball game sitting right next to Moore. “He did the games for nothing because he loved the kids; just incredibly dedicated. He was just always there, and he loved every second of it.”

Moore was running the clock decades ago when current SHS athletic director Tom Albertson was a player. Albertson said boosters like Moore are invaluable, and running the clock was just one less thing to worry about.

“He was basically just part of Bulldog sports; so reliable,” said Albertson, lauding the dedication. “It’s so amazing you could never say thank you enough. He did it for the love of kids and the youth of Sandpoint.”

Bobby Moore’s son Robert kept time alongside his father for many years, and with grandson Ryan Moore occasionally helping run the clock, three generations of Moores have had a hand in working the scoreboard.

Moore was recently inducted into the Sandpoint Hall of Fame as a booster, a most deserved honor. He was also a fixture at the Elks Golf Course, where he enjoyed one of his other passions.

“He was there almost every day,” said Witte. “About every time you’d pull into the Elks his green truck was there.”