A senate RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR PEARL MOORE OF FLORENCE COUNTY FOR HER ACHIEVEMENTS ON AND OFF THE BASKETBALL COURT.

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina Senate are pleased to recognize Pearl Moore during Black History Month for her many accomplishments; and

Whereas, Pearl Moore, a native of Florence, is the all-time career-scoring leader for women's college basketball. Between 1975 and 1979, the four-time All-American scored 4,061 points. Playing most of her career for Francis Marion University (FMU), when the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women oversaw the sport, she led her team to the postseason four years in a row, scoring more than 30 points per game every season; and

Whereas, Pearl Moore's record exceeds that of Caitlin Clark, the Iowa Hawkeye star who recently broke the National Collegiate Athletic Association women's basketball all-time scoring record, which at the time was 3,527 points, a record held by former Washington Huskies star Kesley Plum. Her record also sits atop that of many male superstar counterparts, including the legendary Pistol Pete Maravich, who finished his college career with 3,667 points; and

Whereas, in addition to her point total, recorded in an era that did not have the three-point field goal, Pearl Moore grabbed 1,270 rebounds and shot 45.9 percent from the field and set a new school-record 70.0 percent from the free-throw line. Some of her collegiate career highlights included a new single-game record sixty points in a 114-71 victory over Eastern Washington State College in the 1978 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Small College National Tournament and in her final collegiate game, March 10, 1979, in an AIAW Small College Regional Tournament consolation game against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she scored forty two points to break the previous all-time record of 4,045 set by Travis Grant of Kentucky State University; and

Whereas, following her graduation from Francis Marion with a degree in sociology, she played professionally in the Women's Professional Basketball League for two seasons, 1979-80 with the New York Stars, where she won a league title her rookie season, and 1980-81 with the St. Louis Streak, earning All-Star status in 1981. She also played one pro season in Venezuela, winning that league's championship as well; and

Whereas, Pearl Moore returned to Florence after finishing her basketball career, and worked for the United States Postal Service. She held youth basketball camps over the years and regularly participated in Francis Marion University's annual Old Timers' Game. Now in her mid-sixties, she is retired and still resides in her hometown, which in 2018 recognized her many contributions with the opening of the Pearl Moore Basketball Center, which has become the home of the Florence Youth Basketball League, Florence Wildcats, and the Florence Recreation Volleyball Program; and

Whereas, Pearl Moore's journey to becoming the greatest scorer in the women's game began in an era when women were not generally encouraged to play sports, but, as part of a family with eleven children, there was always a game to join, and she took to basketball because, as she explained, "There was something about the ball going through the hoop."; and

Whereas, Pearl Moore has earned the respect of her peers.  She was inducted into the National Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2011, and, more recently, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. She was the second inductee with Francis Marion ties, joining her former coach Sylvia Hatchell, and becoming the third native South Carolinian to whom the honor was bestowed, joining Columbia's Alex English and Charleston's Katrina McClain. Prior to garnering these national accolades, she was one of the first inductees into the FMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2000, she was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 2006 was among the inaugural class for the Florence Area Athletic Hall of Fame; and

Whereas, cognizant of her commitment to excellence throughout her sports career and the contributions to her local community and the State of South Carolina, the Senate takes great pleasure in recognizing Pearl Moore during Black History Month. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate:

That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, recognize and honor Pearl Moore of Florence County for her achievements on and off the basketball court.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Pearl Moore.

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