their top players. However, one month into the season, McVea was traded to the Houston Texans, most likely due to the precarious financial situation of the franchise. He later finished out his playing career with a tryout with the Houston Oilers, but injuries effectively ended the comeback. After football McVea's post-football career saw his life unravel when in 1985, he was arrested for theft after asking a Houston restaurant for food (ostensibly for the poor), claiming that he was working for the Oilers and promising them free tickets to games. The deaths of his parents, Daniel and Mattie McVea, within six months of each other in 1982 while Warren was in the midst of a divorce, propelled him over the breaking point. In an interview with The Daily Cougar, McVea recalled this period of his life as a time when he "lost it. I didn't know where I was." To cope with his problems, McVea started using drugs. In 1989, he was convicted and sentenced for setting a female acquaintance's apartment on fire. Then in 1993, he was arrested for drug possession again and given 25 years in prison. Leaving prison for good in 2000, he was inducted into the University of Houston's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. He worked as a courier, delivering photo film to retail stores. "I was really, really pleased and impressed with how he's backed off and straightened himself up and now's a productive citizen", former Houston football coach Bill Yeoman said of McVea. "I think he's done a real good job." McVea was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, and inducted into the UH Hall of Honor the following year. See also Other American Football League players References 1946 births Living people American football running backs Houston Cougars football players Kansas City Chiefs players Detroit Wheels players Cincinnati Bengals players Houston Texans (WFL) players Players of American football from San Antonio Brackenridge High School alumni