Warren Moon
Warren Moon
Harold Warren Moonis an American former professional gridiron football quarterback who played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, and the Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He is currently the color commentator for the Seahawks radio network, working alongside Steve Raible. He was the first African-American quarterback inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFootball Player
Date of Birth18 November 1956
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I think all the guys that have played in the game before me as African- Americans have to share in this a little bit. We've made tremendous strides over the years and I really don't want to make this a racial thing because it shouldn't be. But it is significant because it is the first and I think whenever there is a first it is significant. When Doug Williams was the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl, I think that helped a lot of things as far as young black quarterbacks getting more opportunities. I think this will be significant also. It shows we have arrived at the pinnacle of our sport.
It would be the story of the NFL so far this year,
Ben is so young, and he has so much to learn. Matt has arrived. But for the future, I would rather have Ben because of where he is going to go. His future is unlimited.
Doug Williams did a little bit of that when he won the Super Bowl, but this would take it to another level.
You look at me -- I played 17 years and didn't get one. That had a lot to do with how long I played. I was still chasing that elusive, one last goal that I had left to accomplish in my career. Unfortunately, it never happened. But I'll tell you what: I did try.
To be inducted in my first year of eligibility is mind-boggling. Not too many guys have had that happen.
I think he'll be able to handle it very well; he's a very intelligent guy, very well-spoken, very humble. Look what it did for (New England's) Tom Brady; look what it does for any quarterback who wins this game.
I wish this had come along a little earlier in my career.
Now that he's got this Collective Bargaining Agreement done for another six years, I guess he feels like his job is complete. He probably wasn't going to still be on the job when the next contract came up, so this is probably a good time for him to walk away with the league in very good shape financially because of the new TV contracts. He's done an unbelievable job as commissioner.
To be voted into the Hall of Fame would be the crown jewel of my career. When I look back at what I overcame and what I was able to accomplish, it would be extra special.
When I was coming up as a kid, there were programs that kept me out of trouble and on the straight and narrow in South Central Los Angeles, and I always felt that when I got to a stage where I could provide similar opportunities to kids then I would do that.
The CFL made me a more versatile QB because of all the things you had to do once you got on the field. And if I wasn't as versatile as I was, I wouldn't have been as successful in all the different offenses that I was in, in the NFL.
I never thought I would be the oldest quarterback in the National Football League at one point, not in a million years. I never thought I would play as long as I did, either, seventeen years from start to finish, with stops in Houston, Minnesota, Seattle, and Kansas City.
My biggest hero was Roman Gabriel, who was the QB of the Rams, and Roger Staubach. Those were the two guys I tired to emulate when I was little.