Warren Moon, First Afro-American Quarterback Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

When the 1976 Pro Football draft was about to happen, scouts were predetermining Warren Moon's professional football career. Their predetermination did not have Quarterback in the picture. Even after having a stellar college football background at the University of Washington and defeating the University of Michigan in the Rose Bowl, the aspect of Warren Moon as a Quarterback in the NFL was not in their sights. This was not new to Warren Moon, as he had to previously address this issue with colleges that desired to reassign him to another position. The question is why? The answer is that there had only been one other Afro-American quarterback in the NFL that had been successful.

Warren Moon had his sights on being a Professional Quarterback so he bypassed the NFL and played Professional Football in Canada instead. On August 5, 2006, Warren Moon would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and would be the only football player to have been inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. When Warren Moon turned to Canada so he could be a Professional Quarterback, he led his team to 5 Grey Cups in five consecutive years. He played in Canada for only 6 years and amassed over 1,300 completed passes with a little over 2,300 attempted passes and over 21,000 yards.

In 1984, the Houston Oilers were looking for a Quarterback and Warren Moon was available. After Houston won the bidding against the Seattle Seahawks, Warren Moon would sign a $5.5 million dollar contract for the next 5 years. In his first year, Warren had to adjust to playing on American football fields but he still managed to pass for 3,338 yards. He had several seasons of over 4,000 yards and set many records such as most yards passing in a career, in a season, in a game or most 300 yard or 400 yard games passing. He set a long list of records for other quarterbacks to break (if they can). Warren's best season was in 1993 and it was his last with Houston. He took the Oilers to a 12-4 season and the Central Divisional Title. After this, Warren Moon would be traded to the Minnesota Vikings where he passed for more than 4,000 yards in each of his first 2 seasons with them. Due to missing half the next season due to a broken collarbone, Warren lost his starting position. He then moved onto Seattle and set another record for the Seahawk franchise. He moved on one more time before retiring. This time he would be the backup quarterback in Kansas City.

Warren Moon is being recognized for his accomplishments in his 17-season career in the NFL. In his first year of eligibility, he will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2006. His career in the NFL started after he completed 6 seasons with the Canadian Football League. His performance there earned him an induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001. In the NFL, he amassed over 49,000 yards passing in his 17 seasons. If you add his more than 21,000 yards in Canada, you have an amazing 70,000 yards in his overall career. From 1988 until 1997, Warren Moon was named to the Pro Bowl 9 times. His completed pass yardage is the 4th in the NFL.

"Any time you're the first to accomplish something means it has special significance. Being the first African-American quarterback to make the Hall of Fame makes all the obstacles I had to overcome worth it. This shows on the biggest stage of all that African-American quarterbacks have overcome stereotypes and can play at the highest (level) of this game." Warren Moon (1)
For more information on the Pro Football Hall of Fame, visit their website at: http://www.profootballhof.com/
Visit the link at the Pro Football Hall of Fame website for additional information on Warren Moon: http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=256

(1) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3636913.html