In 2006, former Seattle Seahawk and University of Washington quarterback Warren Moon became the first African American to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Moon, who was selected during his first year of eligibility to be considered for the Hall of Fame, amassed 49,325 yards passing, 291 touchdowns, and 102 wins during his 17-year NFL career, which included stints with Houston, Minnesota, Seattle, and Kansas City.
Moon also earned Pro Bowl invitations (tying both John Elway and Dan Marino for most by a quarterback), had nine 3,000 yard passing seasons, 49 300-yard passing games, and led his team to nine playoff appearances.
Moon, who played during a time when Black quarterbacks in big time college football and in pro football were virtually unheard of, was forced to play junior college football before getting an opportunity to play college football for the University of Washington; and later chose to play in the Canadian Football League (CFL) after drawing little interest from the NFL as a starting quarterback after leading Washington to a Rose Bowl victory over Michigan his senior season. In the CFL, Moon threw for 21, 228 yards and 144 touchdowns in four years, giving him over 70,000 passing yards and 435 touchdowns in his pro career (CFL & NFL combined).
“Sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do like go to junior college and like playing in Canada,” said Moon. “I just kept going where ever I had the opportunity to play quarterback.”
While Moon has helped pave the way for other Black quarterbacks to play, he knows that his success was not just based on his own ability, but the accomplishments of others before him and his teammates along the way.
“A lot of people are responsible for this (getting inducted in to the Hall of Fame), not just me,” said Moon. “I had some very talented receivers where ever I went that made my job a whole lot easier.
“It’s great to know that you are a trailblazer,” he said. “I remember when Doug (Williams) won the MVP in the Super Bowl. I cried that day. He’s just as proud of me today as I was of him on that day.”
