Walker, Herschel 1962—

Herschel Walker 1962—

Professional football player

At a Glance…

Sources

Outstanding running back Herschel Walker has been a stellar performer in both collegiate and professional football. As a junior at the University of Georgia, the 6’1”, 223-pound Walker won the Heisman Trophy, college football’s highest honor, en route to a collegiate career in which he set ten NCAA records. His subsequent career as a professional player in both the United States Football League (USFL) and National Football League (NFL), has shown him to be one of the sport’s premiere rushers and receivers. Walker, who has played for the Minnesota Vikings since 1989, is “arguably the most devastating running back in today’s world,” according to a contributor to The Football Abstract. “Whether running or catching, Herschel is a threat to score every time he touches a football.”

Walker’s prowess was evident already in high school, where he excelled in both football and track, leading Johnson County (Georgia) High School to state championships in both sports. At the Georgia state track championships, Walker won the shot put, the 100-yard dash, and the 200-yard dash; and while in his senior season on the football team, he rushed for 3,167 yards, averaging 211 yards per game. Walker received two major national honors for his high school athletic achievements. In 1979 he represented Georgia at the Hertz Number 1 Awards, which annually honor the best high school track-and-field athletes from each of the 50 states, and the following year Walker was named Parade magazine’s national high school running back of the year.

When Walker set out for college in 1980, he was offered over 100 athletic scholarships. He finally chose to attend the University of Georgia, nearest his hometown of Wrightsville. Walker quickly brought himself and the Georgia football program into the national spotlight. In his first year, he set the NCAA freshman running record with a total of 1,616 yards, leading the Georgia Bulldogs to an undefeated season and the school’s first-ever national football championship. In the Sugar Bowl, which Georgia won over Notre Dame, Walker played with a dislocated shoulder, yet managed to gain 150 yards and two touchdowns on his way to being named the bowl game’s most valuable player. He was also third in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy, in which a freshman had never before finished in the top ten.

The following year Walker finished second in the Heisman

At a Glance…

Full name, Herschel Junior Walker; born March 3, 1962, in Augusta, GA; son of Willis and Christine (Taylor) Walker; married Cynthia De Angelis, March 31, 1983. Education: Attended University of Georgia, 1980-83.

Played professional football with the New Jersey Generals (United States Football League), 1983-86, with the Dallas Cowboys (National Football League), 1986-89, and with the Minnesota Vikings (National Football League), 1989—. Owner, Diversified Builders Inc., Athens, GA. Appears on video, Hershel Walker’s Fitness Challenge for Kids, HPG Home Video, 1989.

Awards: Hertz Number 1 Award, 1979; named national high school back of the year by Parade, 1980; three-time All American football player at University of Georgia; Heisman Trophy as outstanding college football player in the United States, 1982; named most valuable player in the United States Football League, 1985.

balloting, while Georgia ended the season ranked number two in the nation. He finally won the Heisman his junior year—in a landslide—and was the nation’s second leading ground rusher. He decided to forego his senior year of eligibility at Georgia and play professional football, capping off a collegiate career in which he set ten NCAA records, including the most yards gained by a rusher (5,259). In addition to his football accomplishments at Georgia, Walker was also a stand-out on the track team, and at one point was ranked in the top five nationally in the 60-yard dash.

In 1983 Walker signed a record $1.5 million annual contract with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL. His salary, under team owner Donald Trump, made him one of the highest-paid players in all of professional football. Walker continued to dominate the playing field in his first two years of professional football. With the Generals, he set the record for the highest single-season rushing record in professional football, running for 2,411 yards in 1985, and the same year was named the USFL’s most valuable player.

The USFL folded in 1986, and Walker was signed by the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL for a reported five-year, $5 million contract. His performance with the Cowboys was one of the few bright spots in a series of otherwise disappointing seasons for the team. In 1986, while the Cowboys finished the regular season with 7 wins and 9 losses, Walker topped the team in receiving and finished a close second to fellow Cowboy Tony Dorsett in the rushing category. In 1987, which the Cowboys finished with 7 wins and 8 losses, Walker led the entire NFL in combined rushing and receiving, amassing a total of 1,606 yards.

Early into the 1989 season Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, after the struggling Cowboys changed coaches and converted to a more pass-oriented offense which gave Walker less of an opportunity to play. Walker received a reported $1.2 million in the form of “exit money” in the deal, while he gained for the Cowboys a total of five players and rights to a number of draft choices. The Vikings, ready to utilize Walker’s running talents, provided a good atmosphere for Walker. Carl Banks of the New York Giants commented in the New York Times on the change in Walker after he joined the Vikings: “He’s a much-inspired runner now. Aside from his abilities, he has an offensive line that gives him a crack to get into the secondary…. With Dallas this year, just playing against him, you saw he was giving 100 percent, but things were not going as smoothly as in the past. You’ve got to have other guys doing things to have success as a runner. I think he has that element now.”

Sources

Books

Carroll, Bob, Pete Palmer, and John Thorn, The Football Abstract, Warner Books, 1989.

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen, The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 6th edition, St. Martin’s, 1988.

Periodicals

Ebony, November 1987.

New York Times, October 13, 1989; October 29, 1989.

Sports Illustrated, October 23, 1989.

—Michael E. Mueller