Warren Moon to be Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame

As if it isn’t enough that the Seattle Seahawks are in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, one of the great figures in the history of Seattle football was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday.

Former Seahawks and University of Washington quarterback Warren Moon was one of six players inducted into the Hall of Fame Saturday in a vote by the Pro Football Writers.

Moon was joined by former Dallas Cowboys Troy Aikman and Rayfield Wright, late defensive end Reggie White, linebacker Harry Carson and former coach John Madden.

The selection of Moon was particularly momentous. Although he didn’t intend to make race relevant in his selection to the Hall, there’s no getting around it. This was a ground-breaking announcement.



“To be the first African-American quarterback into the Hall of Fame, all African-American quarterbacks who played before me should share in this," Moon said. "I don't want to make this a racial thing, but I think it is significant. It shows that we have arrived at the pinnacle of our sport."

And it isn’t as if he didn’t earn it. Moon came out of the University of Washington in 1978 following a stunning upset of Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Nonetheless, the 6-2, 220-pound Moon was shunned by the NFL and headed to the Canadian Football League, where he played for the Edmonton Eskimos, leading them to five consecutive Grey Cups.

With so many mediocre quarterbacks on shaky teams, the NFL finally woke up. In 1984 he was signed by the Houston Oilers. Seventeen seasons later, he had thrown for an amazing 51,061 yards and 313 touchdowns – including being voted into nine Pro Bowls by his peers. He played 11 years for the Oilers, followed by three with the Minnesota Vikings, two with the Seahawks and his final two seasons were in Kansas City.

Just how important this is to so many of the African-Americans in the NFL, from coaches to players, is obvious. Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy came out of Minnesota as a quarterback in 1978 as well, and didn’t get drafted. He did play three seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers as a safety, but became the youngest assistant coach in the NFL the next season with the Steelers.

Dungy took the classic route for black college quarterbacks into the secondary, while others became wide receivers. That didn’t change until the past decade or so.
“Actually, Warren and I are contemporary’s and neither one of us got drafted,” Dungy said. “Warren took a little different path; he went to Canada and played, whereas I changed positions. It’s nice to see that a guy with Warren Moon’s ability nowadays doesn’t have to go to Canada or doesn’t have to prove himself in some other way. From that standpoint we have made progress. To see Warren get in the Hall of Fame is another step; to see an African-American quarterback in the Hall of Fame would be fantastic.”

And even a young quarterback like Atlanta’s Michael Vick, who came out of Virginia Tech in 2001, understands what Moon meant to the game and the future of black quarterbacks in general. Moon shattered the theory that African-American quarterbacks get by on sheer athleticism. Unlike the mercurial speed of Vick, he was actually slow of foot, and didn’t tower over the offensive lines, either. He just had a superior arm that was both accurate and strong, and a great sense of reading defenses.

“Warren was just a passer,” Vick said. “He was very accurate with the ball. He made plays and Houston was one of my teams growing up. They had a great receiving core. I still remember all the receivers, Wesley Slaughter, Ernst Givens and all those guys. I just loved watching him play. I loved seeing him play every Sunday. He was very accurate with the football, one of the most accurate in the game.

“When I was at Virginia Tech we had a chance to talk, he encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing. He told me one day, some positive things will happen. Every African-American quarterback I have seen play in this league, even though there are very few, always gave me some hope that I would have the opportunity. All I ever wished for was a chance to play. I never thought I was going to be a first-round pick, I never knew I was going to have blazing speed and a big-time arm. I never knew any of that, I just wanted a shot. I just wanted to prove to people that I could play in the league.”

Moon made the difference. Now the radio analyst alongside Steve Raible on Seahawks radio broadcasts, what he proved is the essence of change in America. Fortunately, the Pro Football Writers didn’t use his lack of a Super Bowl ring as an excuse. It just proved progress has been made.

“It’s a great honor,” Moon said.
For all of us.