His roots are in Illinois, along with most of his 12 seasons in the NFL. However, Emery Moorehead’s football career went through Colorado twice.
Emery had his choice of colleges as a star athlete out of Evanston and opted to head to Boulder and play for the Buffs. He played both running back and wide receiver and was a captain his senior year when CU won the Big 8 Conference Championship.
He got noticed by NFL Scouts and was picked by the Giants in the 6th round of the 1977 draft. After two head coaches and three seasons, he was traded to the Broncos for the 1980 season. His teammates included names like Watson, Upchurch, Wright, Egloff and Morton on offense and Gradishar, Foley, TJ, BT and Chavous on defense. He only spent one year in Denver, but quickly became part of the Broncos family.
He was cut by the Broncos in 1981 and his former Buffs teammate Dave Williams suggested to the Bear that they bring Emery in. They did and he stuck around for the next 8 years playing wherever and whenever… and winning a Super Bowl ring.
After retirement, Emery was a real estate agent in Illinois for 28 years and today is fully retired, splitting his time between Illinois and Colorado.