Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 15, 1991                   TAG: 9102150017
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RETIRING NO. 12 THE LEAST UVA CAN DO FOR SHAWN MOORE

What's to consider? Virginia should have retired Moore's number the moment it came off his back.

No UVa football player has accomplished more or taken the program to greater heights than Moore, the Martinsville High School graduate who was selected the ACC player of the year and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. Name a passing record at UVa and Moore holds it.

That Moore's number has not been retired should not be interpreted as a lack of appreciation on the part of UVa's football program or athletic department. It comes from a growing realization that the Cavaliers have retired too many numbers in the past.

UVa already has retired the numbers of five players and Moore would make six. And, what of Herman Moore, the Cavaliers' record-setting wide receiver?

Coach George Welsh said he would be in favor of retiring the number of a player who is a consensus All-American, but he was probably unaware that Herman Moore would qualify under those criteria, but not Shawn Moore. Herman Moore was UVa's third consensus All-American, joining Bill Dudley and Jim Dombrowski.

Dudley, who played from 1939-41, was the first UVa player whose number was retired. The others were Gene Edmonds ('48-49), Joe Palumbo ('49-51), Frank Quayle ('66-68) and Dombrowski ('82-85)

Edmonds, who was killed in an auto accident after UVa's 28-14 loss to Tulane in 1949, had the most questionable credentials. Palumbo, a defensive guard, was voted first-team All-America by The Associated Press in 1951. Quayle was the ACC player of the year in 1968.

"It was the best honor I ever received," Quayle, a commentator on the UVa football network, said of the retirement of his number.

"I know when I played, there hadn't been a whole lot for Virginia football fans to be excited about [with no winning seasons between 1952-68] and the same goes for Jim Dombrowski. I think if you had a program like Penn State's, you wouldn't retire Jim Dombrowski's number."

Penn State has had 18 consensus All-Americans since 1959 alone. Notre Dame, over the same span, has had 28. Neither school retires numbers in any sports.

"I don't think it's ever been discussed here," Notre Dame spokesman John Heisler said. "I mean, where would you start and when would you stop?"

Only North Carolina, among ACC teams, has retired as many football numbers as Virginia. Yet, the Tar Heels have not retired a number since the 1950s. Virginia Tech has retired the numbers of three football players, only one - Outland Trophy winner Bruce Smith - since the '60s.

Virginia Tech and five ACC schools have something Virginia does not have, a sports hall of fame. One way for UVa to resolve its dilemma would be to form an athletic hall of fame and select as its charter members all those athletes whose numbers have been retired.

I'm not sure how the former honorees would take having their numbers unretired - I suspect some wouldn't like it - and I'm not sure how fair it would be to change the rules on Shawn Moore and other active players.

However, if Gene Edmonds' number was retired after his death in an auto accident, what about Craig Fielder, who died from cancer in 1987? If Frank Quayle's number could be retired after he was voted ACC player of the year in 1968, what about Barry Word, the ACC player of the year in 1985?

Word later spent time in prison after his conviction for cocaine distribution, which should be enough to eliminate him. Also, Word never graduated, which should be part of the criteria. It could be argued that NFL-bound Herman Moore will not play out his eligibility, but he is on schedule to graduate.

An athlete's character should be at least one consideration, and that is another area where Shawn Moore is beyond reproach. He is a role model for white and black youths throughout the state, and, if you think that's creating a distinction where none exists, consider that UVa has never retired the number of a black football player.

Clearly, UVa needs to establish some sort of criteria for retiring numbers or get out of the business altogether. But, first, the Cavaliers need to retire Shawn Moore's No. 12, at least for a period long enough so he can appreciate it. Anything else would be an injustice.