'Never Give Up Your Dream': Warren Moon tells his life story

"Never Give Up on Your Dream: My Journey"

by Warren Moon with Don Yeager

Da Capo Press, 264 pp., $25

BOOK REVIEW |

In a tough sport, Warren Moon was one of the toughest.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer, a former University of Washington and Seattle Seahawks quarterback, survived 23 seasons in an injury-ridden profession where the average career lasts only 3-½ years.

Moon was known for his unusually strong throwing arm and his stoicism. Nothing seemed to rattle him as he became one of the most prolific passers in the history of the game.

And as an author, Moon goes deep in "Never Give Up on Your Dream: My Journey."

"I played the game with very little emotion. When people see me today, they think I was so cool and calm. ... They just never knew what was going on inside of me."

Quite a bit, as it turns out in this introspective book. Moon, who is now a member of the Seahawks broadcast team, covers a lot of ground as he moves the reader up and down the field of his life, from the high points to the low, including two 2007 arrests for drunken driving (he pleaded guilty in both cases to a lesser charge of negligent driving).

It's also a book full of insight and wisdom from an African-American man who became successful and wealthy doing something that, until he came along, few blacks playing for white coaches got the chance to do — play quarterback for a major college or professional football team.

Moon, the first (and still only) African-American quarterback in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, praises former UW head coach Don James for giving him the opportunity to play quarterback for the Huskies, where Moon led them to a 1978 Rose Bowl victory over favored Michigan.

Football is much more than just a game to Moon; it's excellent training for life. He uses his role as quarterback in an important scoring drive during a big game as an example of that.

"I had to be methodical. I had to be precise. I had to make the right decision," he wrote. "All this worked ... because I knew everything about my personnel ... what every one of my players was capable of, who I could rely on and who I couldn't.

"NFL owners and businessmen, for that matter, can all relate to how a great leader, no matter their skin color, in moments like that, can be inspiring and successful."

Bill Kossen is a desk editor

at The Seattle Times.