Moon and Carson talk heritage
They said it loud. They are black and they are proud.
Both Warren Moon and Harry Carson used the stage of their induction into the Professional Football Hall of Fame last Saturday to thank those that helped them earn the honor. But they also took time to remember the struggles of black players and coaches who came before them and reminded the football world that racism is yet to be overcome.
“A lot has been said about me as being the first African-American quarterback to go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Moon said in his enshrinement speech.
“It’s a subject that I’m very uncomfortable about sometimes, because I always wanted to be judged as just a quarterback. I accept the fact that I am the first, but I also remember all those guys who came before me and blazed that trail.”
He said he carried the burden of “representing his people” and “I want to say here today that I did represent.”
Moon did more than “represent” – he was outstanding.
During his amazing career, Moon passed for more than 70,000 yards between the CFL and the NFL, including nearly 49,325 yards in the NFL. When he retired, Moon held the NFL record for most passes completed in a season (404) and still shares the record for most 300-yard passing games in a single season (9) with Dan Marino.
He passed for 4,000 yards in a season four times, including his best season of 1990, when he passed for 4,689 yards and 33 touchdowns and compiled a 96.8 quarterback rating. Moon led the NFL in passing yards twice, made nine trips to the Pro Bowl and led his team to the playoffs nine times.
Not bad for a guy that led his team to a Rose Bowl triumph in 1978 with his arm, legs and brain – and was then sent off to Canada because the NFL did not think he was up to the task of quarterbacking in the league.
Carson, the longtime New York Giants linebacker, told the crowd that he must remember his ancestors, those that came to America in chains.
“I did not come through Ellis Island,” he said.
Carson also noted this is the 60th anniversary of Bill Willis integrating the league. He chided pro football for shutting out the likes of player-coach Fritz Pollard in the 1920s – Pollard entered the Hall of Fame last year – and urged continued dedication to reform.
“I hope that the owners and those in the positions of power will open it up to a greater sense of diversity and understand that even those players who have played the game who are looking to get into coaching, give them a shot,” Carson said.
