Warren Moon

Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former gridiron 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). In the NFL, Moon also played for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs.

Warren Moon

Moon in 2010
No. 1
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	November 18, 1956 Los Angeles, California
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	221 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Los Angeles (CA) Hamilton
College:	Washington
Undrafted:	1978
Career history
Edmonton Eskimos (1978–1983) Houston Oilers (1984–1993) Minnesota Vikings (1994–1996) Seattle Seahawks (1997–1998) Kansas City Chiefs (1999–2000)
Career highlights and awards
NFL 9× Pro Bowl (1988–1995, 1997) First-team All-Pro (1990) NEA NFL Most Valuable Player (1990) NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1990) AFC Player of the Year (1990) Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year (1989) 2× NFL passing yards leader (1990, 1991) NFL passing touchdowns leader (1990) Tennessee Titans No. 1 retired Titans/Oilers Ring of Honor Bart Starr Award (1994) CFL 5× Grey Cup Champion (1978–1982) CFL Most Outstanding Player (1983) Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy (1983) Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour College Pac-8 Co-Player of the Year (1977)
Career NFL statistics
TD–INT: 291–233 Passing yards: 49,325 Completion percentage: 58.4 Passer rating: 80.9 Rushing touchdowns: 22 Player stats at NFL.com
Career CFL statistics
TD–INT: 144–77 Passing yards: 21,228 Completion percentage: 57.5 Passer rating: 93.8 Rushing touchdowns: 14
Player stats at PFR
Player stats at CFL.ca (archive)
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Moon began his professional career with the Eskimos in 1978 after going unselected in that year's NFL Draft. His success during his six CFL seasons, five of which ended in Grey Cup victories, led to him being signed by the Oilers in 1984.[1] Over his 17 NFL seasons, Moon was named to nine Pro Bowls, received first-team All-Pro honors in 1990, and made seven playoff appearances. He spent ten seasons with the Oilers and had brief stints with the Vikings, Seahawks, and Chiefs 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 remains a CFL record and he was twice named Grey Cup MVP. Moon was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming the first African-American quarterback and the first undrafted quarterback to receive the honor. He is also the only player to be inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Early years

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. He chose to play football as a quarterback since he found that he could throw a football longer, harder, and straighter than anyone he knew.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

He 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. He had little playing time until his junior year, when he took over as varsity starting quarterback. In his senior season in 1973, they reached the city playoffs, and Moon was named to the all-city team.[2][6]

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. Offensive coordinator Dick Scesniak of the University of Washington in Seattle, however, was eager to sign the rifle-armed Moon. Adamant that he 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.[8]

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.[9][10] 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.[11]

College statistics

Year	Team	Comp	Att	Pct	Yards	TD	Int
1974	West Los Angeles	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
1975	Washington	48	122	39.3	587	2	2
1976	Washington	81	175	41.7	1,106	6	8
1977	Washington	125	223	56.3	1,772	12	9
Total		254	520	49.8	3,465	20	19

Professional career

Canadian Football League

Despite his collegiate success, Moon went unselected in the 12-round NFL Draft. With no takers in the NFL, he turned to the Canadian Football League. Moon signed with the Edmonton Eskimos, where he and Tom Wilkinson shared signal-calling duties and helped lead the Eskimos to a record five consecutive Grey Cup victories in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982.[12] Moon won the offensive Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award in the 1980 and 1982 games, and became the first professional quarterback to pass for 5,000 yards in a season by reaching exactly 5,000 yards in 1982.

In his final CFL season of 1983, he threw for a league record 5,648 yards and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. The season was not as successful for the Eskimos however, as they finished 8-8. Having barely made the playoffs (which they would have missed altogether if not for a loss by the Calgary Stampeders to the last place Saskatchewan Roughriders in the last week of the regular season), Moon's Eskimos were throttled in Winnipeg by the Blue Bombers in the West Semi-final.

In his six years in the CFL, Moon amassed 1,369 completions on 2,382 attempts (57.4 completion percentage) for 21,228 yards and 144 touchdown passes. He also led his team to victory in 9 of 10 postseason games. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Eskimos' Wall of Honour. In 2006, he was ranked fifth on a list of the greatest 50 CFL players presented by Canadian sports network TSN.

National Football League

Moon (left) playing with teammate Mike Rozier for the Houston Oilers in 1987.

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.[1] Gifford Nielsen—the starting quarterback in 1983—retired after Moon joined the team, stating that Moon becoming the starter was inevitable.[13] 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 8–22 (.267) at the helm and did not finish the 1985 season.[14] 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 9–6 record, their first winning season since 1980. In his first postseason game in the NFL, Moon passed for 237 yards and a touchdown in the Oilers' 23–20 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in the wildcard 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.[15] In 1990, Moon led the league with 4,689 passing yards. He also led the league in attempts (584), completions (362), and touchdowns (33), 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.[16] The following year, he again led the league in passing yards, with 4,690. At the same time, he 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, in the final game of the season. Two weeks later, the Oilers faced 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. 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, but 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[17] was the largest comeback victory in NFL history and is now known in NFL lore simply as the Comeback. Moon finished the game with 36 completions for 371 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. His 36 completions was an NFL postseason record.

The 1993 season was the Oilers' best with Moon, but was 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, but lost to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs 28–20 in the divisional round of the playoffs.[18]

Moon set a franchise record with Houston for wins with 70, which stood until Steve McNair broke it in 2004, long after the team had become the Tennessee Titans. He also left the Oilers as the franchise leader in passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass attempts, and pass completions, all of which still stand today.

Moon was traded to the Minnesota Vikings after the season, where he passed for over 4,200 yards in each of his first two seasons, but missed half of the 1996 season with a broken collarbone. The Vikings' starting quarterback job was given to Brad Johnson and Moon was released after he refused to take a $3.8-million pay cut to serve as Johnson's backup.[19] Moon then signed with the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent, made the Pro Bowl, and was named Pro Bowl MVP. After a two-year stint in the Pacific Northwest, an aging Moon signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup in 1999.[20] He played in only three games in two years with the Chiefs and announced his retirement at age 44 in January 2001. His 291st (308th, including postseason play) and final touchdown pass was an 8-yard pass to Troy Drayton against the Rams on October 22, 2000, a game in which the Chiefs defeated the defending champs, 54–34.[21]

Combining his NFL and CFL stats, Moon's numbers are nearly unmatched in professional football annals: 5,357 completions in 9,205 attempts for 70,553 yards and 435 touchdowns. Even if his Canadian Football League statistics are discounted, Moon's NFL career numbers are still exceptional: 3,988 completions for 49,325 yards, 291 touchdown passes, 1,736 yards rushing, and 22 rushing touchdowns.[22] Warren Moon also held individual NFL lifetime records for most fumbles recovered (56) and most fumbles made (162), but this was surpassed by Brett Favre in 2010.[23] Moon was in the top five all-time when he retired for passing yards, passing touchdowns, pass attempts, and pass completions.[24]

Moon was named to 9 Pro Bowl games (1988–1995, 1997). He worked as a broadcaster for the Seattle Seahawks on both TV and radio until 2017. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming both the first Canadian Football Hall of Fame player, first undrafted quarterback, and first African-American quarterback honored; he was elected in his first year of eligibility. The Tennessee Titans retired his number at halftime on October 1, 2006 vs the Dallas Cowboys.[25] Moon won his first Super Bowl ring in 2014 as a broadcaster for the Seattle Seahawks.[26][27]

Moon has mentored Cam Newton, the first overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, alluding to their common experiences as prominent African-American quarterbacks.[28][29][30] He was suspended indefinitely from his sportscaster position after he was sued, in December 2017, for sexual harassment.[31]

Career Statistics

CFL statistics

Year	Team	GP	Passing						Rushng
			Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Int	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
1978	Edmonton Eskimos	15	89	173	51.4	1,112	5	7	30	114	3.8	1
1979	Edmonton Eskimos	16	149	274	54.4	2,382	20	12	56	156	2.7	2
1980	Edmonton Eskimos	16	181	331	54.7	3,127	25	11	55	352	6.4	1
1981	Edmonton Eskimos	15	237	378	62.7	3,959	27	12	50	298	6.0	3
1982	Edmonton Eskimos	16	333	562	59.2	5,000	36	16	54	259	4.8	4
1983	Edmonton Eskimos	16	380	664	57.2	5,648	31	19	95	527	6.2	3
CFL Career		94	1,369	2,382	57.5	21,228	144	77	340	1,706	5.0	14

NFL statistics

Legend
	Led the league
	AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Passing							Rushing
		GP	GS	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
1984	HOU	16	16	259	450	57.6	3,338	12	14	76.9	58	211	3.6	1
1985	HOU	14	14	200	377	53.1	2,709	15	19	68.5	39	130	3.3	0
1986	HOU	15	15	256	488	52.5	3,489	13	26	62.3	42	157	3.7	2
1987	HOU	12	12	184	368	50.0	2,806	21	18	74.2	34	112	3.3	3
1988	HOU	11	11	160	294	54.4	2,327	17	8	88.4	33	88	3.6	5
1989	HOU	16	16	280	464	60.3	3,631	23	14	88.9	70	268	3.8	4
1990	HOU	15	15	362	584	62.0	4,689	33	13	96.8	55	215	3.9	2
1991	HOU	16	16	404	655	61.7	4,690	23	21	81.7	33	68	2.1	2
1992	HOU	11	10	224	346	64.7	2,521	18	12	89.3	27	147	5.4	1
1993	HOU	15	14	303	520	58.3	3,485	21	21	75.2	48	145	3.0	1
1994	MIN	15	15	371	601	61.7	4,264	18	19	79.9	27	55	2.0	0
1995	MIN	16	16	377	606	62.2	4,228	33	14	91.5	33	82	2.5	0
1996	MIN	8	8	134	247	54.3	1,610	7	9	68.7	9	6	0.7	0
1997	SEA	15	14	313	528	59.3	3,678	25	16	83.7	17	40	2.4	1
1998	SEA	10	10	145	258	56.2	1,632	11	8	76.6	16	10	0.6	0
1999	KC	1	0	1	3	33.3	20	0	0	57.6	0	0	0.0	0
2000	KC	2	1	15	34	44.1	208	1	1	61.9	1	2	2.0	0
NFL Career		208	203	3,988	6,823	58.4	49,325	291	233	80.9	543	1,736	3.2	22

Postseason

Year	Team	Games		Passing							Rushng
		GP	GS	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
1987	HOU	2	2	45	75	60.0	537	2	3	74.1	9	13	1.4	0
1988	HOU	2	2	33	59	55.9	453	1	4	58.1	11	27	2.5	0
1989	HOU	1	1	29	48	60.4	315	2	0	93.7	3	12	4.0	0
1990	HOU	0	0	DNP
1991	HOU	2	2	55	76	72.4	596	5	2	106.0	5	24	4.8	0
1992	HOU	1	1	36	50	72.0	371	4	2	103.0	2	7	3.5	0
1993	HOU	1	1	32	43	74.4	306	1	1	91.8	3	22	7.3	0
1994	MIN	1	1	29	52	55.8	292	2	2	68.7	2	9	4.5	0
NFL Career		10	10	259	403	64.3	2,870	17	14	84.9	35	114	3.3	0

Franchise records

Moon remains statistically one of the best players ever for the Oilers/Titans franchise. As of 2019's NFL off-season, Moon still held at least 37 Titans franchise records, including:

• Most Completions (career): 2,632[32]
• Most Completions (season): 404 (1991)
• Most Completions (game): 41 (1991-11-10 DAL)
• Most Completions (playoff career): 230
• Most Completions (playoff game): 36 (1993-01-03 @BUF)
• Most Completions (rookie season): 259 (1984) [33]
• Most Pass Attempts (career): 4,546[32]
• Most Pass Attempts (season): 655 (1991)
• Most Pass Attempts (playoff career): 351
• Most Pass Attempts (playoff game): 50 (1993-01-03 @BUF)
• Most Pass Attempts (rookie season): 450 (1984)[33]
• Most Passing Yards (career): 33,685[32]
• Most Passing Yards (season): 4,690 (1991)
• Most Passing Yards (game): 527 (1990-12-16 @KAN)
• Most Passing Yards (playoff career): 2,578
• Most Passing Yards (playoff game): 371 (1993-01-03 @BUF)
• Most Passing Yards (rookie season): 3,338 (1984)[33]
• Most Passing TDs (career): 196[32]
• Most Passing TDs (playoff career): 15
• Most Passing TDs (playoff season): 5 (1991)
• Most Passing TDs (playoff game): 4 (1993-01-03 @BUF)
• Most Pass Yds/Game (career): 238.9[32]
• Most Pass Yds/Game (season): 312.6 (1990)
• Most Pass Yds/Game (playoff career): 286.4
• Most Pass Yds/Game (playoff season): 371 (1992)
• Most 300+ yard passing games (career): 42
• Most 300+ yard passing games (season): 9 (1990)
• Most 300+ yard passing games (playoffs): 4
• Most 300+ yard passing games (rookie season): 4
• Most 4,000+ passing yard seasons: 2
• Most Intercepted (playoff career): 12
• Most Sacked (career): 315
• Most Sacked (season): 47 (1984)
• Most Sacked (game): 12 (1985-09-29 DAL)
• Most Sacked (playoff career): 22
• Most Sacked (playoff game): 9 (1994-01-16 KAN)
• Most Sacked (rookie season): 47 (1984)

Awards

• 9× Pro Bowl selection (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997)
• All-Pro selection (1990)
• 5× Grey Cup champion (66th, 67th, 68th, 69th, 70th)
• 2001 Enshrined on Eskimos' Wall of Fame
• 1990 NEA NFL MVP
• 1990 NFL Offensive Player of the Year
• 1990 UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year
• 1989 Man of the Year
• 1997 Pro Bowl MVP
• 1982 Grey Cup MVP
• 1980 Grey Cup MVP
• 1983 CFL Most Outstanding Player
• 1983 Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy
• 1978 Rose Bowl MVP
• 1977 Pac-8 Player of the Year
• Oilers/Titans Career Passing Yards Leader with 32,685
• Tennessee Titans #1 Retired
• Hall of Fame (inducted in 2006)
• University of Washington Ring of Honor (Inaugural Member in 2013)[34]

Personal life

Moon married Felicia Hendricks, whom he had known since they were 16 years old, in 1981.They divorced in 2001.[35]

See also

• History of African Americans in the Canadian Football League#Black quarterbacks
• List of 500-yard passing games in the National Football League
• List of National Football League career quarterback wins leaders
• Racial issues faced by black quarterbacks

References

1. "Moon and Oilers agree to terms". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). February 5, 1984. p. D4.
2. "Warren Moon". Contemporary Black Biography. The Gale Group, Inc. 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
3. Plaschke, Bill (July 30, 2006). "Moon Made His Position Clear From Start". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
4. Bishop, Greg (July 30, 2006). "The man that is Moon". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
5. George, Thomas (October 21, 1990). "Moon: He Wears No. 1, And He's Playing Like It". The New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
6. "Warren Moon Biography". sports.jrank.org. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
7. "Warren Moon's enshrinement speech transcript". Pro Football Hall of Fame. August 5, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
8. "How Warren Moon Improved His Athleticism In High School". Retrieved January 19, 2007.
9. Missildine, Harry (January 3, 1978). "Jackson rescues Washington". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 19.
10. "Huskies go from rags to roses". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 3, 1978. p. 1C.
11. Dodds, Tracy (January 3, 1978). "Bo's rare gamble backfires in Rose Bowl". Milwaukee Journal. p. 8, part 2.
12. "CFL Legends >> Warren Moon". Retrieved January 22, 2007.
13. Blackburn, Jess (May 15, 1984). "Quarterback Gifford Nielsen, a six-year veteran with the Houston..." UPI. UPI. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
14. "Oilers fire Campbell as". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 9, 1985. p. C1.
15. "Moon Says New Pact Is Richest in N.F.L." New York Times. April 8, 1989. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
16. "Individual Records: Passing". NFL Records. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008.
17. "Bills and Eagles Turn Mountains Into Molehill; Buffalo Erases 32-Point Deficit". New York Times. January 4, 1993. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
18. "Houston '93". A Football Life. Season 3. Episode 15. December 10, 2013. NFL Network.
19. "Vikings Release Moon". The New York Times. February 22, 1997. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
20. "Moon Joins Chiefs". The New York Times. April 27, 1999. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
21. "St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs - October 22nd, 2000". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
22. "NFL Passing Yards Single-Season Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
23. "History". Nfl.com. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
24. "NFL Leaders, Football Records, NFL Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
25. "Retired Jersey Numbers". Tennessee Titans Official Website. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
26. "Warren Moon". www.facebook.com.
27. "Warren Moon on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
28. Sports, Nate Davis, USA TODAY. "Is criticism of Cam Newton racially motivated? Warren Moon thinks so". USA TODAY.
29. "From The Mag: How Newton's joy made (great) football fun". ESPN.com. January 13, 2016.
30. ET, 2016 at 11:00a (February 1, 2016). "Is race really a factor in how Cam Newton is perceived?". FOX Sports.
31. "Seahawks broadcaster and former Husky star Warren Moon sued for alleged sexual harassment". Retrieved December 6, 2017.
32. "Titans Career Passing Leaders". pro-football-reference.com.
33. "Oilers/Titans Rookie Passing Records". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
34. "Husky Legends Come Alive in New Stadium". University of Washington. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
35. Hanson, Eric; Chronicle, Copyright 2001 Houston (February 14, 2001). "Moons file for divorce". Houston Chronicle.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · Pro Football Reference
• Warren Moon at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Warren Moon at the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame at the Wayback Machine (archived October 17, 2015)
• Warren Moon at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
• Sports1Marketing