Donald Moore's father, longtime youth football coach Thomas "Gordy" Moore of Lynchburg, Virginia, got him started in sports, by signing him up for youth football when he was four years old. His father molded him into an athletic competitor and prepared him for the great sport of wrestling.

Moore did not have the benefit of a youth or junior varsity program to learn wrestling, but rather began competing in 1968 as an eighth grader, wrestling exhibition matches for Brookville High School. Every year after 1968 Brookville had a different coach and none had any wrestling background until Rex Cox, who was an engineer for General Electric took over the team.

Cox became the most influential figure in Moore's wrestling career and helped him earn a full wrestling scholarship to the University of Colorado. His coach at Colorado was Olympic gold medalist and National Wrestling Hall of Fame Distinguished Member Shelby Wilson. Moore was named Most Outstanding Freshman for 1973-74.

After Wilson retired from coaching in 1974, Moore transferred to William & Mary to wrestle for Ed Steers, who was a great motivator, and he also met William & Mary wrestling program founder Dick Besnier. Moore became team captain and was a two-time Virginia collegiate champion and MVP while also capturing a Southern Conference championship. He was an Eastern Regional champion and twice qualified for the NCAA Division I national tournament.

After graduation in 1978, Moore became the head wrestling coach at Ferguson High School in Newport News. He departed after two years and coached Bethel High School in Hampton from 1982-84. Moore then coached for Don Booth with the York youth team from 1987-95.

Moore founded the Williamsburg Wrestling Club in 1996 and he remains active with the youth team today. He has assisted Bruce Shumaker at Lafayette High School since 1997. Moore was inducted into the Brookville High School Hall of Fame in 1988.

He has been a member of the USA Wrestling World Masters freestyle team four times. Moore placed fourth in freestyle at the World Masters Championships and was the Virginia USA Wrestling grand champion in the senior division in 1997. He returned to the World Masters Championships and earned a bronze medal in 2001.