Warren Moon
Harold Warren Moon is an American former professional football quarterback who played for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Moon also played for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs. He is considered one of the greatest undrafted players in NFL history.
Moon played college football for the Washington Huskies, winning Pac-8 Co-Player of the Year in 1977 and being named MVP of the Rose Bowl the following year. Due to not generating interest from NFL teams, he began his professional career with the Eskimos in 1978. Moon's success during his six CFL seasons, five of which ended in Grey Cup victories, resulted in him being signed by the Oilers in 1984. During his 17 NFL seasons, Moon was named Offensive Player of the Year in 1990 after leading the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns. He led the NFL in passing yards twice and received nine Pro Bowl selections. Moon spent 10 seasons with the Oilers, leading them to seven playoff appearances, and made an eighth postseason run with the Vikings before retiring in 2000.
At the time of his retirement, Moon held several all-time professional gridiron football passing records. Although relatively unsuccessful in the NFL postseason, his five consecutive Grey Cups from 1978 to 1982 remain a CFL record and he was twice named Grey Cup MVP. Moon was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming the first African-American quarterback and the first undrafted quarterback to receive the honor. Moon is also the only player inducted to both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Early life
Born on November 18, 1956, in Los Angeles, Moon was the middle child amongst six sisters. His father, Harold, was a laborer and died of liver disease when Moon was seven years old. His mother, Pat, was a nurse, and Moon learned to cook, sew, iron, and housekeep to help take care of the family. Early on, Moon decided that he could play only one sport in high school because he had to work for the rest of the year to help his family. Moon chose to play football as a quarterback since he discovered that he could throw a football longer, harder, and straighter than anyone he knew.Moon enrolled at Alexander Hamilton High School, using the address of one of his mother's friends to gain the advantages of a better academic and athletic reputation than his neighborhood high school could offer. Moon had little playing time until his junior year, when he took over as the varsity starting quarterback. As a senior in 1973, Moon was named to the all-city team and the football team reached the city playoffs.
College career
Moon attended two-year West Los Angeles College and was a record-setting quarterback as a freshman in 1974, but only a handful of four-year colleges showed interest in signing him. However, University of Washington's offensive coordinator, Dick Scesniak, was eager to sign the rifle-armed Moon. Adamant to play quarterback, Moon considered himself to be perhaps a slightly above-average athlete who lacked either the size, speed, or strength to play other positions.Under new head coach Don James, Washington was in Moon's first two seasons as a starter. However, as a senior in 1977, he led the Huskies to the Pac-8 title and a 27–20 upset victory in the Rose Bowl over Michigan. Moon was named the game's Most Valuable Player on the strength of two short touchdown runs and a third-quarter 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert "Spider" Gaines.
College statistics
Professional career
Despite his collegiate success, Moon was led to believe that he would only be a late-round NFL pick and was fearful that it would lead to a limited opportunity to make it in the NFL.Edmonton Eskimos
Six weeks before the NFL draft, Moon signed with the Edmonton Eskimos. He and Tom Wilkinson shared signal-calling duties from 1978 to 1981, winning four consecutive Grey Cups during this span.Moon became Edmonton's starting quarterback midway through the 1980 season. That year, the team won their third consecutive Grey Cup, and Moon won his first Grey Cup Offensive MVP award as Edmonton defeated Hamilton 48–10.
In 1981, Moon started his first year as Edmonton's No. 1 quarterback with Wilkinson, who would retire after the season, as the team's No. 2 quarterback. Moon was moved to the reserve list for Edmonton's game against Ottawa on October 12. During the Grey Cup, Moon was struggling, and Edmonton was trailing Ottawa 20–0 in the second quarter. At this time, Moon was replaced by Wilkinson. Moon returned in the second half and directed drives for three touchdowns and the game winning field goal with three seconds remaining in the game. Edmonton defeated Ottawa 26–23 to win a CFL record fourth consecutive Grey Cup.
In 1982, Moon became the first professional quarterback to pass for 5,000 yards in a season by reaching exactly 5,000 yards. He passed for 36 touchdowns, which set an Edmonton record, and was third in a single season in CFL history. Edmonton would recover from a 3–5 start to finish the regular season 11–5, and first place in the West Division for the sixth consecutive season. The team qualified for the Grey Cup for the sixth consecutive season and won the Grey Cup for the fifth consecutive year. Moon was named the Grey Cup Offensive MVP for the second time in his career.
In his final CFL season, 1983, Moon threw for league-records in pass completions, attempts, and yards, records which have since been broken. On October 15 against Montreal, Moon set an Edmonton record by passing for 555 yards, which was third in a single game in CFL history. Moon was nominated as the West All-Star quarterback, and won the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the Most Outstanding Player in the West Division. He was then nominated as the CFL All-Star quarterback and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. However, the season was not as successful for the Eskimos as they finished with an 8–8 record. Having barely made the playoffs, the Eskimos were throttled in Winnipeg by the Blue Bombers in the West semifinal.
During his six years in the CFL, Moon amassed 1,369 completions on 2,382 attempts for 21,228 yards and 144 touchdown passes. He also led the Eskimos to victory in nine of 10 postseason games. In 2001, Moon was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Eskimos' Wall of Honour. Five years later, he was ranked fifth on a list of the greatest 50 CFL players presented by Canadian sports network TSN.
Houston Oilers
Moon's decision to enter the NFL touched off a bidding war for his services, won by the Houston Oilers, led by Hugh Campbell, his head coach for his first five seasons in Edmonton. Gifford Nielsen—the starting quarterback in 1983—retired after Moon joined the team, stating that Moon becoming the starter was inevitable. Moon had a difficult adjustment period, but threw for a franchise-record 3,338 yards in his first season in 1984, but Campbell was just at the helm and did not finish the 1985 season. When new head coach Jerry Glanville found ways to best use Moon's strong arm in 1986, the team began having success. In the strike-marred 1987 season, the Oilers posted a record, their first winning season since 1980. In his first postseason game in the NFL, Moon threw for 237 yards and a touchdown in the Oilers' 23–20 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.Prior to the 1989 season, Moon signed a five-year, $10-million contract extension, which made him the highest-paid player in the NFL at that time. In 1990, Moon led the league with 4,689 passing yards. He also led the league in attempts, completions, and touchdowns, and tied Dan Marino's record with nine 300-yard games in a season. That included throwing for 527 yards against Kansas City on December 16, 1990, the second-most passing yards ever in a single game. The following season, Moon again led the league in passing yards, with 4,690. At the same time, Moon joined Marino and Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons. Moon also established new NFL records that season with 655 attempts and 404 completions.
In 1992, Moon played only 11 games due to injuries, but the Oilers still managed to achieve a 10–6 record, including a victory over the Buffalo Bills at home in the regular season finale. A week later, the Oilers traveled to Buffalo to face the Bills again in the first round of the AFC playoffs. Aided by Moon's 222 passing yards and four touchdowns in the first half, Houston built up a 28–3 halftime lead and increased it to 35–3 when Buffalo quarterback Frank Reich's first pass of the third quarter was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Bubba McDowell. However, the Bills stormed back with five unanswered second-half touchdowns to take a 38–35 lead with time running out in the final period. Moon managed to lead the Oilers on a last-second field goal drive to tie the game at 38 and force overtime. However, he threw an interception in the extra period that set up Buffalo kicker Steve Christie's game-winning field goal. The Bills' rally from a 32-point deficit was the largest comeback victory in NFL history at the time and became known in NFL lore simply as the Comeback. Moon finished the 41–38 road loss with 36 completions for 371 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. His 36 completions were an NFL postseason record.
The 1993 season was the Oilers' best with Moon but was also his last with the team. Despite a drama-filled 1–4 start and early struggles from Moon, Houston went 12–4 and won the AFC Central division crown. However, the Oilers lost to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs 28–20 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Moon set a franchise record with Houston for wins with 70, which stood until Steve McNair broke it in 2004, long after the team became the Tennessee Titans. Moon also left the Oilers as the franchise leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass attempts, and pass completions, all of which still stand today.