Warren Moon

Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons.

He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

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.

In Moon's senior season in 1973, the football team reached the city playoffs and Moon was named to the all-city team.

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, Offensive coordinator Dick Scesniak of the University of Washington in Seattle, 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 11–11 in Moon's first two seasons as a starter, but as a senior in 1977, he led the Huskies to the Pac-8 title and a 27–20 upset win 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.

Despite his collegiate success, Moon was led to believe he would only be a late-round NFL pick and was fearful that would lead to a limited opportunity to make it in the NFL.

Six weeks before the NFL draft, Moon signed with the Edmonton Eskimos.

Moon began his professional career with the Eskimos in 1978 after not generating interest from NFL teams.

Although relatively unsuccessful in the NFL postseason, his five consecutive Grey Cups from 1978 to 1982 remain a CFL record and he was named Grey Cup MVP twice.

He and Tom Wilkinson shared signal-calling duties from 1978 to 1981, winning four consecutive Grey Cups during this span.

Moon became Edmonton's No. 1 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.

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.

His 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, while also receiving nine Pro Bowl selections.

Moon spent 10 seasons with the Oilers, whom he led 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.

He 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.

Born in Los Angeles, California, 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 Warren learned to cook, sew, iron and housekeep to help take care of the family.

He decided early on that he could play only one sport in high school because he had to work the rest of the year to help the family.

Moon chose to play football as a quarterback since he found 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 varsity starting quarterback.