The link for the full article and photos is: http://bv.channel.aol.com/newsmain/sports/superbowlxxxix/warrenmoon

Four Black QB Pioneers You Should Know
By Ray Holloman, AOL BlackVoices

No matter what Nike tells you, black quarterbacks didn’t start with Michael Vick. Former NFL legend and Field Generals founding member Warren Moon tells BV Sports the four quarterbacks everybody should know:

Willie Thrower Chicago Bears, 1953

That Thrower’s football career went largely unknown even his New Kensington, Pa., is one of sports' greatest crimes of apathy. The Jackie Robinson of baseball, Thrower owns not one but two benchmarks as a race pioneer. Thrower became the first black quarterback both in the Big 10, helping Michigan State to the 1952 title. On Oct. 18, 1953, he became the first black quarterback to play in the NFL, his first and last game. It would be 15 years before another black quarterback played in the league. Thrower died in February 2002.

Moon: “Willie is the first guy that you have to mention as the first black quarterback to play in a game. He only played in one, but it was a game that has huge significance historically and psychologically. His contributions were huge.”

Marlon Briscoe Denver Broncos, 1968; Buffalo, 1969-1971; Miami, 1972-1974, Detroit/San Diego, 1975; New England, 1976

Where Thrower took the first step, Marlon Briscoe started running. He had been an All-American at Nebraska-Omaha, but Briscoe didn’t wait for an invitation to be the first black quarterback to start an NFL game. He wrote one himself. Literally. Denver drafted Briscoe at cornerback, but knowing that the Broncos opened their training camp to media and the public, Briscoe negotiated his own contract and secured a three-day tryout at quarterback. Questioning his leadership ability as a "black quarterback," Denver elected to keep him at cornerback. But when Steve Tensi, Denver’s starter went down with an injury two games into the season, the fans and media pressured Denver’s coaching staff into naming Briscoe the quarterback. He started in the third game of the season and starred for the Broncos, developing into one of the AFL’s most promising youngsters.

But the black quarterback mantra had life left in it. The Broncos acquired a quarterback in the off-season and left Briscoe out of the loop. He never played quarterback in the AFL/NFL again, but he never stopped starring either. Briscoe became one of the league’s best wide receivers in the early 1970s.

Moon: “Marlon was the first black quarterback to start in the league and make an impact. But his story is unfortunate. Even though he was a starter, he wasn’t invited to the off-season quarterback meetings. He wasn’t included. He was never asked to play quarterback the next season. He snuck back into the clubhouse and waited for them to come out from the quarterbacks meetings. It was a foregone conclusion that he wasn’t going to play even though he succeeded.”

James “Shack” Harris Buffalo, 1969-1971; Los Angeles, 1973-1976; San Diego, 1977-1979

What Briscoe did to show African Americans could handle the physical demands of the quarterback position, James Harris showed African Americans could handle the leadership requirements. Then he went even further. After Los Angeles traded starting quarterback John Hadl to Green Bay five games into the season, Harris stepped in a lead the Rams to a 10-5 record and their second straight NFC West championship. He then became the first African-American quarterback to win a playoff game, beating George Allen’s Redskins 19-10. Harris missed the chance to become the first black quarterback to start a Super Bowl by less than a touchdown a week later. That honor would wait 13 more years.

Moon: "He was the first black quarterback to lead a team to playoffs and that’s important because it emphasized the leadership aspects of the position. [Harris] was a great quarterback, too. He was the first to be a Pro Bowl quarterback and Pro Bowl MVP as well."

Doug Williams Tampa Bay, 1977-1984, Washington, 1986-1989

What Harris, Briscoe and Thrower started years and decades before, Doug Williams finally finished with one heck of an exclamation point. Williams not only led the Redskins to one of the all-time biggest routs in Super Bowl history, a 42-10 thrashing of John Elway’s Denver Broncos, he did it better than any quarterback had done it before -- black or white. Williams earned game MVP honors and took the final step in a long march that began years before.

Moon: "Doug Williams took his team to a Super Bowl and won it, that’s what a great quarterback does. It was a moment of great pride for me and for black athletes."