He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Jacob and Rosina (Maier Ritzer) Moosbrugger.

He served aboard the USS Brazos (AO-4) from August 1927 to June 1929, after which he reported for submarine instruction.

He was in command at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and subsequently directed the activities of that destroyer in close cooperation with a carrier task group to cover the reinforcement of Samoa, to conduct raids on Wake Island and Minami Torishima, and to perform escort and screening duties in hazardous waters.

In 1952, he became Commander Military Sea Transportation Service, Pacific Area, with headquarters in San Francisco, California.

He was transferred to the Retired List of the United States Navy on 1 October 1956, and was advanced to the rank of vice admiral.

The United States Navy named the Spruance class destroyer USS Moosbrugger (DD-980) in his honor.