Warren Moon

Born November 18 1956 in Los Angeles California Harold Warren Moon was the middle child among six sisters His father Harold a laborer died of liver disease when Moon was seven years old His mother Pat worked as a nurse and Moon learned to cook sew iron and housekeep to help care for the family He decided early that he could play only one sport in high school because he had to work the rest of the year to help his family choosing football after discovering he could throw a football longer harder and straighter than anyone he knew Moon enrolled at Alexander Hamilton High School and had little playing time until his junior year when he took over as varsity starting quarterback earning allcity honors as a senior in 1973 Moon attended West Los Angeles College where he was a recordsetting quarterback as a freshman in 1974 He transferred to the University of Washington where offensive coordinator Dick Scesniak eagerly recruited the riflearmed Moon As a senior in 1977 Moon led the Huskies to the Pac8 title and a 2720 upset victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl earning game MVP honors with two short touchdown runs and a thirdquarter twentyeightyard touchdown pass to receiver Robert Spider Gaines Despite his collegiate success Moon went undrafted by the NFL and signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League six weeks before the 1978 NFL Draft Moon spent six seasons with Edmonton winning five consecutive Grey Cups from 1978 to 1982a CFL record that still stands He was named Grey Cup MVP twice and in 1982 became the first professional quarterback to pass for 5000 yards in a season Strengths included a powerful arm exceptional accuracy outstanding leadership and remarkable durability that allowed him to play twentythree professional seasons His 1983 CFL season saw him set league records with 380 completions 664 attempts and 5648 yards earning CFL Most Outstanding Player honors The Houston Oilers signed Moon in 1984 where he became a star During his spectacular 1990 season Moon led the NFL with 4689 passing yards and thirtythree touchdowns earning NFL Offensive Player of the Year On December 16 1990 against Kansas City he threw for 527 yardsthe secondmost in a single game in NFL history Despite the Buffalo Bills historic thirtytwopoint comeback in the 1993 playoffs Moons thirtysix completions for 371 yards and four touchdowns set an NFL postseason record Moon retired in 2001 with 49325 NFL passing yards and 291 touchdowns earning nine Pro Bowl selections He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 becoming the first AfricanAmerican quarterback and first undrafted quarterback enshrined and remains the only player in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Canadian Football Hall of Fame