While the story of Tennessee Titans and Houston Oilers legend Warren Moon is the tale of one of the strongest arms in NFL history, his legacy also includes playing a huge role in regard to shattering the glass ceiling that limited opportunities for Black starting quarterbacks in the NFL.
Moon, who owns every Titans passing record worth shouting about, became the first black starting quarterback in the history of all four franchises he played for (Oilers/Titans, Vikings, Seahawks, Chiefs).
In an exclusive interview with FanSided on behalf of the NFL Alumni Association, Moon explained why giving everyone an opportunity to succeed is essential.
""If you're qualified, you should get the opportunity," Moon said, "That's what I was denied back when I was playing the position...I kept working, I kept believing in myself, and when those opportunities came, I made the most of them...for people out there out there that aren't giving those opportunities, they need to open their minds up and realize there are a lot of great, talented people, no matter what color you are, no matter what ethnicity you are.""
Warren Moon details how race should not play a factor in deciding NFL opportunities
Black starting quarterbacks prior to names like Moon and Doug Williams entering the NFL were exceedingly rare. Outside of Rams and Bills quarterbacks James "Shack" Harris, Black starters were limited to a handful of starts here and there. Marlon Briscoe was famously forced to switch positions to wide receiver.
Despite flexing his trademark arm strength and winning a Rose Bowl at Washington, Moon went undrafted in 1978. It took until Moon was 28 years old, during which time he won five straight Grey Cups and a CFL Most Outstanding Player with the then-Edmonton Eskimos in Canada, before Houston even gave him a shot.
The iconic No. 1 showed the world what a foolish decision it was to overlook him over the course of his career. With nine Pro Bowls, just under 50,000 passing yards, and 291 career touchdown passes, Moon is one of the premier gunslingers of all time. Moon also tallied 228 yards and 144 touchdown passes in Canada.
Had Moon been judged purely on his ability as a quarterback when he came out of college, he could have touched down in the NFL much sooner and tallied stats that would have put him even further up the all-time pantheon. Despite how long it took him to get to the NFL, Moon did, in fact, make the most out of what he was given.