African-American Quarterbacks Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1990

Graduating from the University of Washington, in 1978, after leading the Huskies to an 11-1 season and a Rose Bowl victory over the Michigan Wolverines, 27-20, Warren Moon spent six seasons in the Canadian Football League, winning five straight Grey Cups with the Edmonton Eskimoes before entering the National Football League, in 1984.

During his 17 year NFL career, Moon threw for 49,325 yards and 291 touchdowns, as well as recording four seasons with at least 4,000 passing (1990, 1991, 1994, and 1995). In 1990, Moon was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year after he threw for 4,689 yards and 33 touchdowns. He was a Pro Bowl selectee every year from 1988-1997, missing the cut only once, in 1996. In 2006, Moon became the first African-American quarterback to be elected into the NFL Hall of Fame.

Answer: Achieved a perfect quarterback rating of 156.8

Drafted in the sixth round out of the University of Southern California, in 1977, Vince Evans played 16 seasons in the NFL for both the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles/ Oakland Raiders, with a three year stint in the now-defunct United States Football League in between them.

Although his career stats were not all that impressive (9,485 passing yards, 52 touchdowns, 74 interceptions), Evans did have one shining moment on December 7, 1980 against the Green Bay Packers. In that game Evans's statline read: 18-22, 316 yards, three touchdowns zero interceptions in leading the Bears to a 61-7 rout. That performance allowed him to achieve a perfect quarterback rating of 156.8 something only six other quarterbacks during that decade were able to do, and they were:

Dave Kreig
Joe Montana
Steve Young
Craig Morton
Ken O'Brien
Steve Bartkowski

Answer: Became the first African-American quarterback to have started and won an Opening Day game in the NFL

Nicknamed "Jefferson Street Joe", Gilliam was drafted out of Tennessee State, in 1972, by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a possible replacement for future Hall of Famer, Terry Bradshaw. He compiled a 4-2-1 record over his brief 20 game career and on September 15, 1974, he became the first African-American quarterback to have started and won an Opening Day game in the NFL when he beat the Baltimore Colts 30-0, going 17-31 for 257 yards, which included a 54 yard touchdown strike to future Hall of Famer, Lynn Swann.
Sadly, he passed away at age 49 on Christmas Day, 2000.

Answer: Doug Williams

Doug Williams was the first African-American to win a Super Bowl title when he lead the Washington Redskins over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, 42-10.

Selected in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Grambling State University, Williams led the team to three playoff appearances in his five years there, taking them all the way to the NFC Championship game in his second season as a starter where they lost a defensive battle to the Los Angeles Rams, 9-0. He played nine NFL seasons and compiled 16,998 yards to go along with 100 touchdowns.

Answer: Became the first African-American to start in a Conference Championship Game

Nicknamed 'Shack' long before the Los Angeles Lakers' center was born, James Harris was an Eighth Round selection out of Grambling State University, in 1969, for the Buffalo Bills. After three seasons there, he was released and signed with the Los Angeles Rams, where he was a back up to John Hadl until Hadl was sent to Green Bay six games into the 1974 season. Harris was then elevated to starting quarterback and went 7-2 the rest of the way leading the Rams to their second straight division title and a playoff win over the Washington Redskins, 19-10, their first postseason win since 1951.

When he stepped under center the next week at Minnesota, he became the first African-American to start a Conference Championship Game. In his 13 year career, Harris threw for 8,136 yards and 45 touchdowns.

Answer: Randall Cunningham

Nicknamed "The Ultimate Weapon", Randall Cunningham was one of the most gifted and dynamic athletes ever to grace a football field. Taken in the Second Round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles out of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Cunningham spent 16 seasons in the league playing with four different teams (Philadelphia, Minnesota, Dallas, and Baltimore). He also made the Pro Bowl four times (1988, 1989, 1990, and 1998). Just how versatile was he? Check out these plays:

1989--Lined up as the punter and kicked the ball 91 yards
1990--Threw a 99 yard touchdown and ended up with the 10th best rushing total for that season after gaining 942 yards.

For his career, Cunningham tossed 207 touchdowns for 29,979 yards, rushed for 4,928 more, as well as had a punting average of 44.7. Pretty impressive, huh?

Answer: 6

As a Philadelphia Eagle from 1999-2009, Donovan McNabb was selected to the Pro Bowl six times (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010). When he was drafted as the Number Two pick in the First Round out of Syracuse University in 1999, no one would have thought that he would ever come close to even getting to one Pro Bowl. Booed on Draft Day by a portion of the Eagles fans because the organization did not take Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams instead, McNabb wasted little time in proving those that doubted him wrong.

After the 2000 season, McNabb finished second only to the incomparable Marshall Faulk in the Associated Press's MVP voting and went on to lead the Eagles to four consecutive Division titles (2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004), five NFC Conference appearances (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2009), one NFC Conference title, and Super Bowl XXXIX.

All in all, not a bad resume to have for someone who wasn't wanted, initially.

Answer: Gave the Green Bay Packers their first ever home playoff loss

The NFL's overall Number One draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons, in 2001, from the University of Virgina Tech, Michael Vick was very first quarterback to have handed the storied Green Bay Packers their first ever home playoff loss, 27-7, in January, 2003, which was only his second season in the league. During his first six years with the Falcons, he led the team to the playoffs at the end of both the 2002 and 2004 seasons, going 2-2.

While in Atlanta, Vick was as dynamic a player as had ever been seen in the NFL and he seemingly had the city (if not the whole world) in his hands; he could do no wrong...until that fateful day in April, 2007 when a drug investigation into his Virginia home which a cousin of his was using at the time, uncovered an unlawful dogfighting operation. Vick was initially sentenced to 23 months in Federal prison, but only served 19 of them.

Released in July, 2009, Vick was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles where he played sparingly. He became the Eagles starting quarterback in September, 2010, after then-starting quarterback, Kevin Kolb, was injured.

Answer: Became the first African-American quarterback to have started a regular season game in the modern NFL era

The pioneer of this list, Marlin Briscoe, who was chosen by the Denver Broncos in the 14th round of that year's NFL Draft out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, became the first African-American quarterback to have started a game in the modern NFL era when he lined up behind Center Larry Kaminski against the Cincinnati Bengals on October 6, 1968. It was the fourth game of the season and the Denver Broncos had yet to win a game behind starting Quarterback Steve Tensi, who had become injured, but Briscoe helped lead the team their first win, 10-7. He would go on to start a total of five games that season, going 2-3, and throwing for 14 touchdowns.

Although he played well, the Broncos traded him at the end of that season to the Buffalo Bills where he became a wide receiver. He never played quarterback in the NFL again. However, Briscoe could not be too upset about his new position because it was at wide receiver that he became an All Pro for the Bills and later the Miami Dolphins, where he was a member of both their 1972 undefeated squad which won Super Bowl VII, as well as their Super Bowl VIII-winning team.

Briscoe would spend nine years in the NFL, retiring with the New England Patriots after the 1976 season. Thank you for paving the way, Marlin!

Answer: 2003

Taken with the Number Three pick in the First Round of the NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers, in 1995, Steve McNair first took over the starting job in 1997. In his nine year tenure as the team's leader, he guided the Titans to five postseason appearances, including Super Bowl XXXIV (which they lost to the St. Louis Rams on the final play of the game, 23-16), as well as capturing three Pro Bowl selections.

In 2003, McNair was awarded the Associated Press's NFL's Most Valuable Player honor, an award that he shared with the Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning. Sadly, Steve McNair was the victim of a murder/ suicide on July 4, 2009 by his mistress, Sahel Kazemi.