Color line: How Warren Moon paved the way for Seahawks QB Russell Wilson
Aug 7, 2013, 1:14 PM | Updated: 4:34 pm
Warren Moon wrote a book his about his experiences three years ago, "Never Give Up On Your Dream" and Wednesday night he's featured on an episode of "60 Minutes Sports" on Showtime that will discuss the color line of quarterbacks in football. (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
After winning five Grey Cups in Canada, it still gnawed at Warren Moon – he was good enough to play in the NFL. Despite having a great college career with the University of Washington, the black quarterback wasn’t drafted to play pro – so he went to Canada.
Being an African American quarterback in the NFL was unheard for most of the late 20th century. There were a few black quarterbacks in the 1930’s, but as the game changed, so did the position, and its color.
Moon wrote a book about his experiences three years ago, “Never Give Up On Your Dream” and Wednesday night he’s featured on an episode of “60 Minutes Sports” on Showtime that will discuss the color line of quarterbacks in football.
“It was my dream to play in the National Football League. It was a long journey to get there, you have to go through a lot of different twists and turns in order to get there,” Moon told the Morning News on KIRO Radio. “I went through a lot of adversity to get there, but I never lost sight of that dream and I finally made it.”
Even when he would travel with his team in as late as 1990, Moon said he heard the n-word hurled in his direction more than once. Sometimes he received death threats.
He said he would have enjoyed spending his entire professional career in Canada because he enjoyed being only judged by what he did on the field, not by his race. It was just a matter of knowing he was good enough to go pro in the U.S.
A lot of other young quarterbacks he’s talked to over the years know the history of the position, including Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
“I think Russell is very aware of the history of the position, partly because his dad was in sports. His dad really taught him about the history of the position,” Moon said.
And the history of black quarterbacks hasn’t been lost in the generations since Moon. “They understand what was done before them – just like I understood the same from the guys that were playing before me.”
60 Minutes Sports will air at 9 p.m. on Showtime.
