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Larry Moriarty

Larry Moriarty, Hall of Fame Athlete
A late bloomer, he was just 5’10” and 170 pounds when he played noseguard at Dos Pueblos High School. But he grew to be 6’2″ and hit the weights hard to bulk up to 223 pounds when he decided to return to the gridiron at Santa Barbara City College in 1979. As a fullback, he helped lead the Vaqueros to the Western States Conference Championship.

Notre Dame took notice and made him the first junior college player to ever receive a football scholarship from the Fightin’ Irish. Moriarty cracked the starting lineup at Notre Dame as a junior and scored the first touchdown of the Gerry Faust Era, catching a 7-yard TO pass against LSU. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry during his collegiate career and caught 18 passes during his senior season.

Larry made the NCAA’s All-America Strength Team, was clocked at 4.65 in the 40-yard dash and had a vertical leap of 38 inches.

Moriarty was selected by the Houston Oilers in the fifth round of the 1983 NFL draft and started as a blocking back for much of four seasons with the club. He was selected as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week in November of 1984 after rushing for 117 years in a 17-16 win over Kansas City.

Two years later, the Chiefs traded Moriarty midway though the 1986 season. He spent parts of three seasons in Kansas City before retiring from pro football. During his NFL career, Moriarty started 41 games, rushed for 1,904 yards on 496 carries, and caught 77 passes for another 494 yards. He also scored 16 touchdowns in the NFL.