Family of former Packers' announcer Ted Moore loses nearly everything in house fire

BROWN DEER -- A man was out of work, his wife had surgery, and then their house caught fire. It's been a rough 3 weeks for a family with a name that will be familiar to many Green Bay Packers' fans. Rick Moore on Wednesday, December 27th surveyed the damage at his Brown Deer home -- a house that has hosted a number of Packers' greats. His father, Ted, called Packers games on the radio through much of the 1960s, including the legendary Ice Bowl game, something that felt fitting on a day with sub-zero wind chills. "Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Fuzzy Thurston, I think Jerry Kramer's been here," said Moore.

Rick Moore

During his time calling Packers games, Ted Moore would occasionally host true Packers' parties - ones featuring team personnel - after games in Milwaukee. When he passed away in 2014, the house was passed down to Rick Moore and his family.

Ted Moore

The past few months brought a series of challenges: Rick's mother died in September, and then on December 6th, his wife was in the hospital.

"She had Lyme disease for many years before it was properly diagnosed, and it just destroyed all her joints, so she's having her second knee replacement the day of the fire," said Moore. Rick Moore said he got a call at the hospital from his 15-year-old son telling him the house was on fire. He came home to a two-alarm response. Inside, half the house was gutted. The shelving in the bathroom looks like abstract art after the blaze. The bedroom and his dad's old office was ripped apart. The North Shore Fire Department put out the fire and investigated it along with the state fire marshal. NSFD said the cause of the fire is still undetermined, adding there was nothing to indicate the fire was suspicious.

But somehow, amid all the damage, a number of old photographs survived. One features Ted on the sideline before a game' another shows him sitting with a chuckling Vince Lombardi.

"I think my dad was watching out for them," said Rick Moore.

Rick Moore

Moore said Wednesday he's  still stressed out though. "I was doing some contract work, but that kind of dried up, so we were kind of living off the money we had in the bank," said Moore. Without steady income and with medical bills, Moore said he put off renewing the homeowner's insurance. "Isn't one of the smartest moves I've made," said Moore.

He's now hoping a community of Packers' backers will lend a helping hand-off. Moore said their first need is for storage space. They want a place for everything that survived the fire. From there, they'll need help with home repairs because, despite the damage, they're hoping to rebuild. CLICK HERE if you'd like to help out.