Call it a quarterback sack of a different sort. When Warren Moon led the University of Washington Huskies to victory in the 1978 Rose Bowl, earning MVP honours in the process, he should have expected a bevy of National Football League teams to express interest in his services. But when the NFL U.S. College draft concluded later that year the 21-year-old pivot from Los Angeles remained unselected in what proved to be a glaring sign of the times of football in America. Despite his Rose Bowl laurels, impressive stats and high school All-American status, NFL teams turned their backs on the promising young player because, at that time, the game did not accept or endorse Black players as quarterbacks. Undaunted at seeing his NFL playing opportunities go south, Moon traveled north, signing with the Edmonton Eskimos (now know as the Edmonton Elks) of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The move proved propitious - for Moon, the team, the league and the game. Moon's tenure with the green and gold lasted six years, from 1978 to 1983, and during that time the Eskimos dominated the CFL with an unprecedented five straight Grey Cup victories. A prolific passer, Moon threw for more than 21,000 yards and 144 touchdowns in his CFL career, including incredible 5,000-plus yards and more than 30 TDs in the '82 and '83 seasons. He was also honoured as the league's Most Outstanding Player in 1983, Grey Cup Most Outstanding Player in 1982 and the championship's outstanding offensive player in 1980. His remarkable stats in Canada, complemented by his versatility in tossing or running the ball, sparked attention in several NFL camps. Once rejected, Moon was finally respected. In 1984 he signed with the Houston Oilers, beginning what would be a 17-year stint in the NFL where his rocket for an arm would continue to accumulate otherworldly numbers. When he retired from pro football in 2001, after stints in Houston, Seattle, Minnesota and Kansas City, Moon's collective CFL/NFL numbers had proved the stuff of nightmares for opposing team defences: 70,553 yards passing and 435 touchdowns. During his time in the NFL Moon played in nine Pro Bowls where he earned MVP honours in 1997. In 1989 he was named the NFL Man of the Year for his charity work and was also named NFL Offensive Player of the year in 1990. Warren Moon remains the only player enshrined in both the Pro Football and Canadian Football Halls of Fame and is the sole Black quarterback in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Earlier this year he published his autobiography: Never Give Up On Your Dream. (Wendy Long is currently a freelance writer based in North Delta, B.C. and is the author of the book Celebrating Excellence: Canadian Women Athletes.)