Charles Moore landed in Helsinki, Finland in the summer of 1952 with the same hopes and dreams of 4,955 other American athletes. But he would accomplish his dreams, in gazelle-like moves.
At the 1952 Summer Olympics, Moore – who was born in Coatesville on Aug. 12, 1929 and raised in Unionville – brought fans to their feet as he won the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdle with a time of 50.8 seconds, narrowly missing the world record.
Moore also ran the third leg on the second-place 4x400 meter relay, and later finished second for the James E. Sullivan Award, which is given by the Amateur Athletic Union to the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. In 1996, he was selected as one of “100 Golden Olympians” and was inducted into the United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
As an undergraduate at Cornell University, Moore won the NCAA titles in the 440-yard flat race in 1949 and the 220-yard hurdles in 1951. Between those years, he also won four straight AAU titles in the 400-meter hurdles.
Moore went on to a very successful career outside of running. From 1994-1999, Moore was Director of Athletics at his alma mater, Cornell University. Prior to that, the Chester County native was president and CEO of several multinational manufacturing companies, including Ransburg Corporation, Clevepak Corporation, Allied Thermal (a subsidiary of Interpace Corporation), Lapp Insulator (a division of Interpace Corporation), and Lenape Forge. He also served as managing director of Peers & Co. (investment banking), CEO of Peers Management Resources, Inc. (management consulting), and vice chairman of Advisory Capital Partners, Inc. (investment advising).
In 1984, Moore received the Herbert Adams Memorial Award for Advancement of American Sculpture. In 2008, CRO Magazine elected him as Nonprofit & Nongovernmental Organization “CEO of the Year.” In 2010, Moore received the United Nation’s MDG Award for Business Community Leadership in Corporate Philanthropy in honor of his work advancing Global Partnerships.
A former board member of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, Moore is currently governor of the National Art Museum of Sport as well as a national board alumni member of the Smithsonian Institution.
He is married to Judith M. Moore, director of the Music Library at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City. They have nine children and thirteen grandchildren.
