Moon, Warren

Warren Moon

1956-

American football player

Although Warren Moon was overlooked time and again throughout his career, his perseverance led to an unusually long and extremely successful stint as a quarterback in the National Football league (NFL). In addition to having to fight against the perception that he didn't have what it takes to lead an NFL team, he also had to fight against prejudice in a league that had few black quarterbacks. After being passed over by the NFL, Moon went to Canada and led his team to five Grey Cups before being the subject of a bidding war among NFL teams. He would play professional football for twenty-three years and become the first quarterback to pass for over 60,000 yards in his career. Moon was the first forty-year-old to throw five touchdowns in a game and pass for 400 yards. He is also the oldest player in NFL history to score a touchdown. Although he never accomplished his goal of winning a Super Bowl, Moon's distinguished career earned him the respect of his teammates and a place in the record books.

Born Harold Warren Moon, November 18, 1956, in Los Angeles, California, he was the middle child in a family of seven children. His father died of liver disease when Moon was seven years old. He was raised, along with his six sisters, by a mother who insisted on providing her children with all the perks of the middle-class. A serious young man, Moon decided early on that football would be his sport and quarterback his position. He even went as far as enrolling, under a false address, at Hamilton High School—which had a better academic and athletic reputation than his neighborhood high school.

Struggle and Strength

Without the size or speed for football, Moon's secret weapon was his arm strength. It impressed his high school coaches enough to make him the starter on the varsity team in his senior year. He led his team to the city playoffs and was named to the all-city team in 1973. Despite his performance, he was overlooked by college recruiters and enrolled at West Los Angeles Junior College. Moon excelled immediately and began sending game tapes to major universities. The tapes got him in the door and on the field at the University of Washington. Moon had to wait for an opportunity and got it in his junior year when he was named the starting quarterback. He took the brunt of the fans' frustration after a 5-6 season but turned it around the following year. Moon, in his senior season, led his team to a Rose Bowl victory over the favored University of Michigan in 1978.

Canadian Success

He was overlooked by the NFL and signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). In Canada, Moon didn't feel the prejudice he did as a black quarterback in America. He played six seasons in the CFL and became a star. He led his team to five Grey Cup championships and his 5,648 passing yards in 1983 set an all-time record for professional football. His success was finally noticed by the NFL and he was soon the subject of a bidding war between NFL teams. He signed with the Houston Oilers in 1984 after they made him the highest paid player in the league.

Pressure and Prejudice

Before Moon there were very few black quarterbacks in the NFL. He and Doug Williams, of the Washington Redskins, were among the first to find real success. His longevity and reputation for professionalism and success were factors in his eventual acceptance in the league. He and his family, however, were subjected to racist jeers by fans throughout his career when things were not going well for his team. Moon never succumbed to the pressure and always handled himself with discipline and pride.

Chronology

1956	Born November 18 in Los Angeles, California
1973	Leads high school team to city playoffs
1973	Named to all-city team
1977	Leads University of Washington to conference championship
1978	Leads team to Rose Bowl victory
1978	Wins first of five consecutive Grey Cup trophies in the CFL
1983	Named MVP of CFL
1984	Joins the Houston Oilers
1987	Leads Houston to NFL playoffs
1988	Named All-Pro
1994	Signs with the Minnesota Vikings
1997	Signs with the Seattle Seahawks
1997	Becomes oldest starting quarterback in NFL history
2001	Retires as a Kansas City Chief

While with the Oilers, Moon was never able to advance his team past the second round of the playoffs and became a scapegoat for the team's mediocrity. Although he set many team records and his personal performance was continually recognized, he was traded after ten years to the Minnesota Vikings where he believed he would have a more legitimate shot at the Super Bowl. In Minnesota, however, Moon was no more successful. Always a contender and never a winner, the Vikings and Moon suffered a similar fate as his Oilers had in the first ten years of his NFL career. His stay in Minnesota ended after the 1996 season. Injuries limited his abilities and his backup Brad Johnson asserted himself as the quarterback of the future.

Longevity and Retirement

Moon's desire to win a championship kept him from retiring and he signed as a backup with the Seattle Seahawks in 1997. It was with Seattle that Moon would prove he still had something to offer despite his age. After the starter was injured in the first game of the season, Moon became the oldest starting quarterback in NFL history at the age of forty-one. His performance that season would lead to an appearance in the Pro Bowl where he earned the Most Valuable Player award. Moon retired as a Kansas City Chief in 2001.

His excellence on the field was matched by his reputation as a family man. In 1995, he was arrested after a domestic dispute between him and his long time wife. His wife didn't press charges and he was never convicted. They ultimately divorced in 2001, after nineteen years of marriage.

Career Statistics

		Passing
Yr	Team	Att	Com	Yds	COM%	TD	INT	SK	RAT
HOU: Houston Oilers; KC: Kansas City Chiefs; MINN: Minnesota Vikings; SEA: Seattle Seahawks.
1984	HOU	450	259	3338	57.6	12	14	47	76.9
1985	HOU	377	200	2709	53.1	15	19	46	68.5
1986	HOU	488	256	3489	52.5	13	26	41	62.3
1987	HOU	368	184	2806	50.0	21	18	25	74.2
1988	HOU	294	160	2327	54.4	17	8	12	88.4
1989	HOU	464	280	3631	60.3	23	14	35	88.9
1990	HOU	584	362	4689	62.0	33	13	36	96.8
1991	HOU	655	404	4690	61.7	23	21	23	81.7
1992	HOU	346	224	2521	64.7	18	12	16	89.3
1993	HOU	520	303	3485	58.3	21	21	34	75.2
1994	MINN	601	371	4264	61.7	18	19	29	79.9
1995	MINN	606	377	4228	62.2	7	9	19	68.7
1997	SEA	528	313	3678	59.3	25	16	30	83.7
1998	SEA	258	145	1632	56.2	11	8	22	76.6
1999	KC	3	1	20	33.3	0	0	0	57.6
2000	KC	34	15	208	44.1	1	1	5	61.9
TOTAL		6823	3988	49325	58.4	291	233	458	80.9

Awards and Accomplishments

1973	Named to all-city team at Hamilton High School
1978	Named Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player
1978	Named Pacific 8 Conference Player of the Year
1978-82	Grey Cup trophy
1980	Named Grey Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player
1982	Named Grey Cup Most Outstanding Player
1983	Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy
1988	Named to NFL's All-Pro team
1990	Named NFL's Offensive Player of the Year
1997	Named to ninth NFL Pro Bowl
2001	Inducted to Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Fame

Moon overcame the obstacles of prejudice and paved the way for black quarterbacks in the NFL. A Super Bowl was the only thing Moon failed to achieve. He was active in his community and the winner of popularity polls during his time in Texas. Moon's arm strength, endurance and mental toughness carried him through a career that exceeded expectations.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Contemporary Black Biography. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994.

Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale Group, 1991.

Periodicals

"Age is Only a Number for NFL Star Quarterback Warren Moon." Jet (November 2, 1998): 48.

"A Waning Moon." Sports Illustrated (September 11, 1995): 74.

"Blacks Star as Quarterbacks." Jet (November 13, 1995): 46.

"Father Moon." Sports Illustrated (September 27, 1993): 60.

"Felicia Moon, Wife of Ex-NFL Star Warren Moon, Files for Divorce." Jet (March 5, 2001): 14.

"Is Moon the Man?" Sporting News (May 23, 1994): 34.

"The Moon Also Sets." Sports Illustrated (October 25, 1993): 64.

"Texas Jury Acquits Football Star Warren Moon of Assaulting his Wife." Jet (March 11, 1996): 51.

"The Tribulations of a Mean Season." Sporting News (November 1, 1993): 9.

"Vikings Star Warren Moon Apologizes for Assaulting Wife." Jet (August 14, 1995): 49.

Sketch by Aric Karpinski