Zeke Moore, a durable Pro Bowl cornerback who spent his entire professional career with the Houston Oilers, died Tuesday. He was 82.

The cause of death was not immediately available. Moore had lived in Houston for decades after he retired from football.

Born Dec. 2, 1943, in Tuskegee, Alabama, Moore starred at Booker T. Washington High School before heading to Lincoln University in Missouri. He arrived on campus in 1963 and quickly became one of the Blue Tigers’ most useful players, lining up at halfback, defensive back and returner.

In 1964 he led Lincoln in scoring with 10 touchdowns and averaged seven yards per carry on 44 rushing attempts. He also averaged 30 yards on punt returns and took an interception 101 yards against Arkansas AM&N.

An injury limited him in 1965. He bounced back in 1966 as a co-captain and intercepted six passes in nine games. Lincoln inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.

The Oilers selected Moore in the fifth round, 127th overall, of the 1967 AFL-NFL draft. As a rookie he returned 14 kickoffs for 405 yards and a touchdown and helped Houston reach the AFL Championship Game, where the team lost to the Oakland Raiders.

Moore spent his first two seasons mostly on special teams. He became a starting cornerback in 1969, intercepted four passes and earned AFL All-Star honors.

The following year, the first after the AFL-NFL merger, he started all 14 games, picked off a career-high six passes and was selected to the Pro Bowl.

He remained a regular in Houston’s secondary through 1977. Over 11 seasons he appeared in 145 games, started 102 of them, recorded 24 interceptions for 444 yards and scored two defensive touchdowns on interceptions. He also recovered eight fumbles and scored four total touchdowns, including a kickoff return and a fumble return.

Moore was known for a physical style that fit the era. He drew both praise and league attention for some of his hits. In 1973 he received a $300 fine after a collision with Hall of Fame receiver Paul Warfield.

Oilers fans voted him onto the franchise’s 30th Anniversary Dream Team in 1989. After his playing days he spent five years as a Houston Texans ambassador, staying connected to the city and the organization that employed him for his entire NFL career.

He finished with 64 career kickoff returns for a 25.3-yard average. In 1975 he led the Oilers with five interceptions.

Moore’s combination of size — 6-foot-3, 198 pounds — and willingness to hit made him a fixture at a time when cornerbacks were expected to punish receivers after the catch.

He never played for another NFL team. The Oilers released him in August 1978, ending an 11-year run that began in the AFL and continued through the early years of the merged league.

Lincoln University notes that he won the AFL kickoff return title as a rookie. That early special-teams work helped him earn a roster spot before he developed into a starting defensive back.

Moore’s career interception total of 24 still ranks among the more productive marks for Oilers defensive backs of that period. Two of those picks went for touchdowns.

He also scored on a fumble return in 1977, his final season. Combined with his kick-return score as a rookie, those plays accounted for his four career touchdowns.

After football he remained in Houston and stayed involved with the Texans organization as an ambassador. Fans who remembered the Oilers years continued to recognize him as one of the more physical defensive backs the franchise produced.