Warren Moon Harold Warren Moon ( born November 18 , 1956 ) is a former American professional gridiron football quarterback who played for the Canadian Football League ' s Edmonton Eskimos and the National Football League ' s Houston Oilers , Minnesota Vikings , Seattle Seahawks , and Kansas City Chiefs . He is currently a broadcaster for the Seattle Seahawks . Moon held the record for most passing yardage in professional football ( CFL + NFL career ) until surpassed by Damon Allen on September 4 , 2006 , held the record for most passing touchdowns in professional football until surpassed by Brett Favre on November 22 , 2007 , held the record for most pass completions in professional football until surpassed by Brett Favre on December 23 , 2007 , and held the record for most pass attempts in professional football history until surpassed by Brett Favre on December 14 , 2008 . Early years . Moon was born in Los Angeles , California , as the middle child amongst six sisters . His father , Harold , was a laborer and died of liver disease when Moon was seven years old . His mother , Pat , was a nurse , and Warren learned to cook , sew , iron and housekeep to help take care of the family . He decided early on that he could play only one sport in high school because he had to work the rest of the year to help the family . He chose not only to play football but to be a quarterback since he found that he could throw a football longer , harder , and straighter than anyone he knew . He enrolled at Alexander Hamilton High School , using the address of one of his mother ' s friends to gain the advantages of a better academic and athletic reputation than his neighborhood high school could offer . He had little playing time until his junior year , when he took over as varsity starting quarterback . In his senior season , they reached the city playoffs , and Moon was named to the all - city team . College career . He was recruited by a number of colleges , but some wanted to convert Moon to another position as was the norm for many major colleges recruiting black high school quarterbacks . Moon decided to attend West Los Angeles College in 1974 – 75 where he was a record - setting quarterback . After Moon showed his ability at West L . A . , only a handful of four - year colleges showed interest in signing him . Offensive Coordinator Dick Scesniak of the University of Washington , however , was eager to sign the rifle - armed Moon . Moon was adamant that he play quarterback and considered himself to be perhaps a slightly above - average athlete who was either too small , too slow , or not strong enough to play other positions . The Huskies went 11 – 11 in Moon ' s first 2 seasons as a starter ; but during his senior year , Moon led the Don James coached Huskies to a 27 – 20 win over the favored Michigan Wolverines in the 1978 Rose Bowl and was named the game ' s Most Valuable Player on the strength of two short touchdown runs and a third quarter 28 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert " Spider " Gaines . Professional career . Canadian Football League . Despite his collegiate success , Warren Moon went undrafted in the National Football League . With no takers in the NFL , he turned to the Canadian Football League . Moon signed with the Edmonton Eskimos , where he and Tom Wilkinson shared signal - calling duties and helped lead the Eskimos to an unprecedented five consecutive Grey Cup victories in 1978 , 1979 , 1980 , 1981 , and 1982 . Moon won the offensive Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award in the 1980 and 1982 games . Moon became the first professional quarterback to pass for 5 , 000 yards in a season by reaching exactly 5 , 000 yards in 1982 . In his final CFL season of 1983 , Moon threw for a league record 5 , 648 yards , and won the CFL ' s Most Outstanding Player Award . Throughout his CFL career , Moon amassed 1 , 369 completions on 2 , 382 attempts ( 57 . 4 completion percentage ) for 21 , 228 yards and 144 touchdown passes . He also led his team to victory in 9 of 10 postseason games . He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour . In 2006 , he was ranked fifth on a list of the greatest 50 CFL players presented by Canadian sports network TSN . National Football League . Moon ' s decision to enter the NFL touched off a bidding war for his services , won by the Houston Oilers ( who were coached by Hugh Campbell , his former coach in Edmonton ) . However , with the NFL field being so much shorter and narrower than the CFL ' s , Moon had a difficult adjustment period . Even so , he still threw for a franchise record 3 , 338 yards in his first season with Oilers in 1984 . It was only in 1986 when Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville found ways to best utilize Moon ' s strong arm that he began having success . In 1987 , a season shortened by a players ' strike that eliminated the third week of the regular NFL season , the Oilers posted a 9 – 6 record . It was the Oilers ' first winning season since 1980 , when Bum Phillips was the head coach and Ken " The Snake " Stabler was the quarterback . Moon then passed for 237 yards and a touchdown while leading the Oilers to a 23 – 20 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in the wildcard round of the playoffs in his first NFL postseason game . Before the start of the 1989 season , Moon was given a five - year , $ 10 million contract extension , which made him the highest paid player in the National Football League at that time . In 1990 , Moon led the league with 4 , 689 passing yards . He also led the league in attempts ( 584 ) , completions ( 362 ) , and touchdowns ( 33 ) , and tied Dan Marino ' s record with nine 300 - yard games in a season . That included throwing for 527 yards against Kansas City on December 16 , 1990 , the second most passing yard ever in a single game . The following year , he again led the league in passing yards 4 , 690 . At the same time , he joined Marino and Dan Fouts as the only quarterbacks to post back - to - back 4 , 000 - yard seasons . Moon also established new NFL records that season with 655 attempts and 404 completions . In 1991 , Moon threw for a career - high 655 passes . In 1992 , Moon played only 11 games due to injuries , but still managed to lead the Oilers to a 10 – 6 record , including a victory over the Buffalo Bills in the final game of the season . Moon and the Oilers then faced the Bills again in the first round of the AFC playoffs . Aided by Moon ' s 222 passing yards and 4 touchdowns in the first half , Houston built up a 28 – 3 halftime lead , and then increased it to 35 – 3 when Buffalo quarterback Frank Reich ' s first pass of the third quarter was intercepted and returned for a touchdown . But the Bills managed to storm back with 5 unanswered second half touchdowns to take a 38 – 35 lead with time running out in the final period . Moon managed to lead the Oilers on a last second field goal drive to send the game into overtime , but threw an interception in the extra period that set - up Buffalo kicker Steve Christie ' s game winning field goal . It was the largest comeback victory in NFL history and is now known in NFL Lore simply as The Comeback . Moon finished the game with 36 completions for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns , with 2 interceptions . His 36 completions remain an NFL postseason record . 1993 was the Houston Oilers ' best season with Warren Moon under center — and it would also be his last season with the team . The Oilers went 12 – 4 and won the AFC Central division crown , but lost to Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs 28 – 20 in the divisional round of the playoffs . As a Houston Oiler , Moon set a franchise record for wins with 70 , which stood until Steve McNair broke it in 2004 , long after the team had become the Tennessee Titans . He was traded to the Minnesota Vikings after the season , where he passed for over 4 , 200 yards in each of his first two seasons , but missed half of the 1996 season with a broken collarbone . The Vikings ' starting quarterback job was given to Brad Johnson and Moon was released after he refused to take a $ 3 . 8 million pay cut to serve as Johnson ' s backup . Moon then signed with the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent . After a two year stint in the Pacific northwest , an aging Moon signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup in 1999 . He played in only three games in 2 years with the Chiefs before announcing his retirement in January 2001 . Combining his NFL and CFL stats , Moon ' s numbers are nearly unmatched in professional football annals : 5 , 357 completions in 9 , 205 attempts for 70 , 553 yards and 435 touchdowns . Even if his Canadian League statistics are discounted , Warren Moon ' s career is still exceptional : 3 , 988 completions for 49 , 325 yards , 291 touchdown passes , 1 , 736 yards rushing , and 22 rushing touchdowns . Warren Moon also held individual NFL lifetime records for most fumbles recovered ( 56 ) and most fumbles made ( 162 ) , but this was surpassed by Brett Favre in 2010 . Moon was in the top 5 all - time when he retired for passing yards , passing touchdowns , pass attempts , and pass completions . During his NFL career , Warren Moon was named to nine Pro Bowl games ( 1988 – 1995 , 1997 ) . Moon currently works as a broadcaster for the Seattle Seahawks on both TV and radio . On the radio , he is co play - by - play announcer with former Seattle Seahawks receiver Steve Raible , who is the lead play - by - play announcer and evening anchor / sports anchor for KIRO - TV in Seattle . He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 , becoming both the first Canadian Football Hall of Fame r , first undrafted quarterback and the first African - American quarterback to be so honored . Moon was elected in his first year of eligibility . The Tennessee Titans retired his number at halftime on October 1 vs the Dallas Cowboys . Moon also holds the little known record for being the oldest player to throw a touchdown pass in overtime ( 38 years , 359 days ) . Personal life . Moon married the former Felicia Fontenot Hendricks on March 8 , 1981 . Felicia and Warren ' s daughter , Blair , was a member of Tulane ' s Women ' s Volleyball team . Warren and Felicia have three other children . They divorced in 2002 . Moon married Mandy Ritter in 2005 . They have a son Ryken . Further details are available in Moon ' s biography " Never Give Up on Your Dream : My Journey " . Moon appeared in the film " Any Given Sunday " in a cameo role as the head coach from New York . On April 6 , 2007 , Moon was arrested for suspicion of DUI after being stopped for speeding in Kirkland , a suburb of Seattle . The charges were later reduced to first - degree negligent driving after Moon registered breath - alcohol levels of 0 . 068 and 0 . 067 at the police station in the hours following his arrest . Moon pleaded guilty to the negligent driving charge and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service , a $ 350 fine and drug and alcohol awareness classes . In March 2011 , Moon stepped back in the limelight while working as a " mentor " to Cam Newton , who became the Overall # 1 2011 NFL Draft Pick to the Carolina Panthers . Moon publicly stated that Newton was being unfairly criticized for character flaws , lack of experience , and low football IQ and that the only reason that Newton was being targeted by football analysts and sports - writers was because he is African - American . External links .