Chris Moore (born 1958) is an American sports broadcaster and radio personality who has done ice hockey play-by-play at both the college and NHL level,Lepay, Matt (2012). Why Not Wisconsin? : From Barry to Bo, Broadcasting the Badgers From the Best Seat in the House. Chicago, Ill. : Triumph Books. pp. 5–7. . "Within a few days, I received a call from Chris Moore, who was the station’s sports director, morning drive anchor, hockey announcer and, when needed, an all-around nut job who could crack up a room with his humor. [...] Chris is a very gifted broadcaster, and he is also funny as hell. He does a great Dick Vitale impression, and he had a number of other character voices that came in handy during his sports updates for WTSO and also WZEE (Z104), a highly rated Top 40 station. Chris was able to chase his dream of becoming an NHL broadcaster, and he left Madison for the New Jersey Devils. He later became the voice of the Florida Panthers. From there, Moore went on to stints with ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. He lives on the East Coast now, and his wife, Pam, is a successful attorney. Chris could tell Linda and I had reservations about moving to Wisconsin, and he went out of his way to make us feel comfortable. Maybe many of you have no idea who Chris Moore is, but I will say without hesitation that any success I have had in this business is in large part because of Chris. He discovered my demo tape and was very aggressive in giving a 26-year-old know-nothing a shot at calling major college basketball games."Van Sickle, Kenny (September 20, 1988). "The Sport Tower: Busy Sports Weekend as IC, Cornell Both Host Games". The Ithaca Journal. p. B1. "Two local sports radio personalities of a few years ago have gone on to bigger and better things. Chris Moore, at the University of Wisconsin the last four years, will be the voice of the New Jersey Devils for WABC-New York." employed, respectively, by the University of Cornell, University of Wisconsin, New Jersey Devils, and Florida Panthers.Halberstam, David (1999). Sports on New York Radio : A Play-by-Play History. Lincolnwood, Ill. : Masters Press. p. 89. . "Hart had a definite opinion on Arnold’s replacement in 1988 on WABC. 'It’s a TV call,' referring to the style of Chris Moore who got his NHL break with the Devils. Chris spent four seasons in New Jersey, a period in which he did a good job of breaking in a woman color commentator, Sherry Ross. Moore’s easy-going conversational style was quite disarming, enabling Ross to feel comfortable behind the microphone. [...] While Moore was criticized for a non-radio, non-descriptive style, he knew hockey and would make bold comments that other play-by-play people would be afraid to make. 'If they continue to play this open style, they won't win.' This one sentence is quite redeeming and captures a thousand words. When Moore wasn't renwewed in New Jersey in 1993, he was hired by the expansion Florida Panthers and has enjoyed a successful career as play-by-play man and talk show host in South Florida." Moore has also worked intermittently as a sports talk radio host at WFAN in New York City."WFAN Turns Twenty: The Lineup – The roster of WFAN personalities over the years". The Star-Ledger. July 1, 2007. Sec. V, p. 7. "Mike Lupica, Stan Martyn, Bill Mazer, Jody McDonald, Chris Moore, Howie Rose, Sid Rosenberg, Russ Salzberg, Dave Sims, Suzyn Waldman, Warner Wolf - SOURCE: WFAN.""Chris Moore". Audacy. Summer 2000.
Early life and career Born in New York CityKessenich, Tom (August 31, 1988). "Moore leaves WTSO to broadcast for NHL's Devils". The Capital Times. p. 16. "For Moore, 30, the opportunity to go to New York, the No. 1 sports market in the country, was too good to pass up. [...] Moore, a New York City native raised in Tarrytown, N.Y., admits that it may take some time to get re-adjusted to the hectic New York lifestyle. [...] Moore joined WTSO in May of 1984 as sports director. Over the past four years, he has handled play-by-play duties for Badger hockey, color commentary for Badger football and was the host of the Don Morton show last year." in 1958, Moore spent his formative years in Tarrytown, where he attended Sleepy Hollow High School,Shustack, Mary (August 22, 1996). "On Radio: Two shows spotlight sports at WVOX, WRTN》". Tarrytown Daily News. p. F23. "Chris Moore, who does the news during the WAXQ-104.3 FM morning show, grew up in Tarrytown. He was discussing his upcoming Sleepy Hollow High School class reunion on the air earlier this week." graduating in 1976."Bus service in Greensburgh good and bad". September 24, 1975. p. D5. "Bus service in northern Greenburgh has received mixed reviews in : a study conducted by student volunteers working in Democrat Richard Brodsky's campaign for county legislator in the Ninth District. [...] The students, seniors at Sleepy Hollow High School in North Tarrytown, found that a heavily-subsidized run originating in Ossining and passing through Tarrytown and Irvington on the way to Scarsdale had inferior ontime performance and ridership to the line linking Tarrytown and White Plains. [...] Participating in the study were Michael Behrman, Katherine Chamberlain, James Finberg. Michael Kelly, Cindy Martin, Chris Moore and Esther Stornfeld."Patton, Gregg (June 5, 1976). "Rats on Way Here". The Reporter Dispatch. p. A13. "The Good Rats are coming to Sleepy Hollow High School in North Tarrytown on Friday, June 11 [...] The show is sponsored by the high school co-op and A Enterprises, run by Sleepy Hollow senior Chris A. Moore." He then attended Ithaca College in upstate New York, finishing in 1980.
Career Close on the heels of college graduation came Moore's affiliation, circa fall 1980, with nearby Cornell University, replacing longtime "voice of Cornell hockey," Roy Ives, as the school's hockey, football and lacrosse play-by-play announcer on station WHCU, where he worked alongside Cornell graduate Pat Brown, as well as fellow Ithaca College alumnus Eric Reid.Jackson, Barry (September 19, 1993). Spotlight on TV, Radio: Tune in to hear Panther's voice. The Miami Herald. p. 2C. "Moore comes to the Panthers from New Jersey, where he called Devils games for five years. Born in New York City, Moore went to Ithaca College and announced Cornell University sports with Eric Reid, now the Heat's TV announcer. (Moore and Reid remain good friends.) Moore, 35, announced Cornell sports - including hockey - for four years, then called University of Wisconsin hockey and football for five years. His tenure with the Devils ended in June when they did not renew his contract."
In 1984, Moore beat out more than a 100 applicants to become the sports director at WTSO in Madison, Wisconsin,Rosenthal, Phil (May 22, 1984). "WTSO's new voice". The Capital Times. p. 19. "Moore, 26, comes to Madison from Ithaca, N.Y. After attending Cornell University, he worked for WHCU-AM and FM in Ithaca and did play-by-play on that station's Cornell football, hockey and lacrosse broadcasts." where he also provided the play-by-play for both football and hockey broadcasts. In 1988, when his first NHL opportunity presented itself, Moore was succeeded as sports director by Matt Lepay, whose recollections of that transition are recorded in the preface to his 2012 memoir, Why Not Wisconsin. Within a few days, I received a call from Chris Moore, who was the station’s sports director, morning drive anchor, hockey announcer and, when needed, an all-around nut job who could crack up a room with his humor. [...] Chris is a very gifted broadcaster, and he is also funny as hell. He does a great Dick Vitale impression, and he had a number of other character voices that came in handy during his sports updates for WTSO and also WZEE (Z104), a highly rated Top 40 station. Chris was able to chase his dream of becoming an NHL broadcaster, and he left Madison for the New Jersey Devils. He later became the voice of the Florida Panthers. [...] He lives on the East Coast now, and his wife, Pam, is a successful attorney. Chris could tell Linda and I had reservations about moving to Wisconsin, and he went out of his way to make us feel comfortable. Maybe many of you have no idea who Chris Moore is, but I will say without hesitation that any success I have had in this business is in large part because of Chris. He discovered my demo tape and was very aggressive in giving a 26-year-old know-nothing a shot at calling major college basketball games.
During his mid-90s tenure as Florida Panthers play-by-play broadcaster, Moore coined the soon-to-be ubiquitous nickname of "Jovocop" for Panther defenseman Ed Jovanovski, reflecting the then-teenaged Jovanovski's crushingly physical style of play."Panthers Profile". South Florida Sun Sentinel. May 19, 1996. p. 52. "NICKNAME / WHY: JovoCop. Radio announcer Chris Moore coined the nickname because of Jovanovski's crunching hits." See also: George, Dave (February 27, 1997). "Jovanoski Back Where He Belongs". The Palm Beach Post. p. . "Saturday's grudge match between the Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers was barely six minutes old at the first sighting of blood. Ed Jovanovski saw to that. That it was Jovocop himself doing the bleeding, a small trickle running from the corner of his left eye, mattered little to him." Neal, David J. (January 18, 1999). "Trade no surprise for Jovanoski". The Miami Herald. p. 4D. "Sunday's trade to Vancouver came as no shock to defenseman Ed Jovanovski, who became a South Florida sports icon as 'JovoCop' his rookie year and spent the next two and a half seasons trying to live up to expectations set then."
Personal life Since the late 1980s, Moore has been married to attorney Pamela Moore, who was attending law school in Syracuse when she first met the then-Cornell University play-by-play broadcaster.Neal, David J. (December 26, 1995). "NHL goes home for holidays; League doesn't play on Xmas". Boca Raton News. p. 2B. "Florida Panthers play-by-play radio man Chris Moore kept his perfect record alive for being home for the holiday. But he knows he was lucky. [...] This season might be the longest Moore has spent as a broadcaster because it's the first one he'll be separated from his wife and two sons from October to April plus probably playoffs. [...] Pam, 36, and Chris, 37, met when she was in Syracuse law school and he was doing play-by-play for Cornell's hockey, football and lacrosse teams. When he got a job doing play-by-play for the University of Wisconsin hockey team, she finished at Wisconsin law school. Chris got a break in 1988 when he was hired for the same job by the Devils. They moved, and Pam took the New Jersey bar exam. They moved once more, to Florida when Chris took the job with the Panthers in 1993. Now, there are only so many bar exams an attorney can stomach. Pam didn't want to take the Florida bar, so after the 1993-94 season, she and Chris decided she would move back to Morristown, N.J." Their first child was born in March 1989, and their second, just over three years later. As of April 1999, the imminent arrival of child No. 3 precipitated a career-altering move—i.e. away from the "regular NHL play-by-play position"—Moore had been wrestling with for well over three years.