Bright Side of the Moon
In a time which spread quarterbacks were few and far between, Warren Moon would eventaully become a founding father of a style that is searched by GM's all across the NFL. Moon would also make history by becoming the first African American football to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Warren Moon was born and raised in Los Angels. Moon was the middle child in a family of 7. Growing up, Moon decided to dedicate himself to playing one sport in order to support his mother and other siblings. If that wasn't humbling enough in itself, Moon wasn't an superstar right away. Like many of us, Moon had to wait for his turn to play. Moon was able to become the varsity quarterback as a junior. In his senior year, Moon managed to take his team to the city playoffs.
After his senior season, a number of schools were pursuing Moon. However, many wanted him to change his position (something that was not uncommon at that time for dual threat quarterbacks). Moon spent his first two seasons playing for the West Los Angeles College. Throughout his duration there, he was able to garner alot of attention from D-1 Universities. Moon received the most attention from the University of Washington. At Washington, Moon had his highest moment when he led the Huskies to the a win in the Rose Bowl.
Despite his success at Washington, Moon was once again challenged to prove himself. Going undrafted in the NFL Draft, Moon was picked up by the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos. While there, Moon led the Eskimos to a wild 5 straight Grey Cup in which he was won MVP in two of those games. Within these 5 years, Moon was picking up alot of interest by NFL teams. After mulling over a few offers, in 1983 Moon decided to join the Houston Oilers (now known as the Tennessee Titans).
During his first two years with the Oilers, Moon had a hard time adjusting to the NFL level. By the 1987 season, he led the Oilers to a much improved 9-6 season. This was much improved after a 5-11 season. In their first playoff game of that season, Moon was able to lead the Oilers past the Seahawks in a thrilling 23-20 Overtime victory. In that game, Moon threw for over 200 passing yards and two touchdowns.
After the 1988 season, Moon became the highest paid player in the NFL at that time, receiving a 5-year $10 million dollar deal. The Oilers took a big risk in investing in Moon; but that risk came with great reward. In 1990, Moon led the league in passing yards (4,690). At that time, Moon is in company with Dan Marino and Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons. Moon is 2nd in NFL History with the most passing yards in a single game (527 yards).
In last season as an Oiler, the team went 12-4 , but ultimately lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. After his years with the Oilers, Moon had short stints with the Vikings, Seahawks , and Chiefs.
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| Warren Moon |
Impact
Moon finished his career with nine pro-bowl selections, 49,325 yards, and 291 touchdown passes in the NFL alone. Moon has left his mark on both the CFL and NFL, becoming the first African-American to be inducted in both the CFL and NFL. By doing so , Moon serves an example of hope for CFL players that they too may eventually reach their goals of becoming an NFL player. Because of Moon's success, players such as Doug Flutie and Cameron Wake have been able to make smooth transitions into the NFL.