TORONTO - He's regarded as one of the finest quarterbacks ever to play professional football and has the rare distinction of being a member of both the Canadian and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
But Warren Moon believes he might never have had a career in football had it not been for Hugh Campbell. And being inducted into the Canada Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday with his longtime former coach made the honour that much sweeter.
"I owe a lot of my success to him because he's the one who saw something in me as a quarterback that other coaches down in the States didn't see," Moon said. "The way he developed me, the way he brought me along slow really let my career blossom I owe so much to this guy.
"I probably wouldn't be playing professional football if it wasn't for him. He was not only my first Canadian coach but my first NFL coach and we've remained great friends . . . that makes it so neat to go in with him."
Campbell, 68, echoed those sentiments.
"We just have a great bond," he said. "We don't have to say much or call each other every day but we both know and trust each other.
"I trust him with my life and he's just a really fine person . . . I love him like a son. I guess now we're both getting to the age now where he's (more) like a brother than a son."
Moon, who turns 53 on Nov. 18., and Campbell were integral parts of an Edmonton club that captured five straight Grey Cup titles in the late '70s and early '80s before they both headed to Houston in 1984. Moon went on to enjoy a stellar career south of the border and is the only player in football history to be inducted into both the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (2001) and Pro Football Hall of Fame (2006) in Canton, Ohio.
Moon came to Canada out of the University of Washington in '78 after being named the Rose Bowl MVP, given the opportunity to play quarterback in Edmonton at a time when black athletes weren't being given much chance to do so in the U.S. He spent six seasons with the CFL club, leading it to five straight Grey Cup titles (1978-'82) before heading to Houston.
Following the '77 season Campbell compiled a short list of U.S. college quarterbacks who were rated highly for the upcoming NFL draft. But when he presented it to Eskimos boss Norm Kimball, Campbell said the top prospect was a player at Washington who seemed to be under everyone's radar.
The following day, Kimball told Campbell to go ahead and get Moon.
"Warren was just different from any other quarterback when he threw the ball," Campbell said. "Every other quarterback I've ever coached -- NFL, CFL, college -- I've always taught them on longer passes to put the ball up high and give the receiver a chance to adjust to it.
"When (Moon) threw it, he threw it on a line. When I first saw him I thought, 'I'm going to have to correct that.' But at about the fourth or fifth time, I realized, 'Wait a minute. It's going exactly where we want it."'
Campbell also marvelled at Moon's ability to throw on the run.
"He was just unreal at rolling out to his left and throwing," Campbell said. "He could roll to his right and throw just as well but there were other people who could to that pretty well.
"But Warren would go to his left and throw a 35-45 yard pass on the line to a certain window about the size of inner tube and Brian Kelly would be there and catch the ball. Other teams at first were cutting their defensive backs thinking there was something wrong instead of realizing they were playing against a special guy."
In all, Moon spent 23 seasons in pro football, playing for five teams (Edmonton, Houston, Minnesota, Kansas City and Seattle). He was named to nine Pro Bowls and was a three-time All-Pro. The NFL honoured him as its Man of The Year in '89 before he was named the league's top offensive player of the year in '90.
In 2006, he was named No. 5 on the all-time CFL Top 50 players in a TSN poll.
And all because a football coach in Canada believed in him and gave him a chance to play.
"We'll forever be attached at the hip," Moon said. "What really helped me was that I played so much football up here, I was playing in game situations, I was in big games and my confidence level was so high when I went (to the NFL).
"All that because the training and play that I got up here as opposed to sitting on the bench on a roster with a team in the NFL. You're not playing, you're not experiencing all these different situations that you do when you're playing. It was so invaluable to me. And not only was I playing but having success as well, winning championships and being part of a special group of guys. Nothing but positives about the whole experience."
Campbell served as Moon's coach in Edmonton and later when Moon headed to Houston. Campbell began his CFL career as a receiver with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also coached in the now-defunct USFL before returning to Edmonton as its general manager and eventually retiring in 2006.
Campbell came to the CFL in '63 with Saskatchewan, helping the club win its first Grey Cup in 1966. He had 321 catches in six CFL seasons and was twice a league all-star before retiring in 1969 to become the head coach at Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash.
He returned to the CFL as Edmonton's head coach in '77, compiling an impressive 70-21-5 overall record. His .729 win percentage is the best in league history.
But Campbell's time in Canada almost ended shortly after it began.
"I brought a suitcase with one dish, a cup, fork and knife in it because I knew I was going to take over the apartment of someone who had just got cut and the question was whether I was going to make the team or not?" Campbell said. "After the first game the coach called me in and said, 'I might have to let you go, you didn't really do anything?'
"I said, 'Well, you never threw a pass to me.' He lined me up as a tight end and I had never played tight end. I said, 'What I do is catch passes and if you want a pass caught . . . ' He said, 'We'll give you one last shot.' Well, I've stayed forever but it was that close."
After spending seven seasons as Whitworth College, Campbell became Edmonton's head coach in '77. He left after the '82 season to join the USFL's Los Angeles Express before reuniting with Moon in Houston in '84.
In 1986 he returned to the Eskimos as their GM before retiring after the '06 season. And he's perfectly content being on the sidelines.
"I miss (football) sometimes during a game but it's not like there's any danger that I'm about to come back," he said with a chuckle. "I love football and the adrenaline flow of a game.
"But I was in football a lot of years, did a lot of things and enjoyed it and certainly left it on a high note with winning the Grey Cup in '05. But I thought this was a good way to step aside."