Today In History

Known as one of the all-time greatest college football players, Herschel Walker is the only person to ever finish in the top 3 of the Heisman Trophy voting every year in college. As a freshman, Walker rushed for 1,616 yards and scored 15 touchdowns while leading the Georgia Bulldogs to the national championship. As a junior two years later, Walker rushed for 1,752 yards and scored 16 touchdowns, to earn him the Heisman Trophy. After college, Walker became the biggest name to sign with the upstart United States Football League (“USFL”). Walker played three seasons in the USFL with the New Jersey Generals, leading the league in rushing in two of his three seasons, including 2,411 yards in 18 games in 1985. After the USFL folded, Walker joined the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. Walker’s NFL career peaked with Dallas in 1987-1988 when he was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of those two seasons. In 1989, Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, in one of the biggest blockbuster trades in league history. Walker’s productivity with the Vikings, and thereafter with the Eagles, Giants, and a return to the Cowboys, never again approached the levels accomplished earlier in his career. Herschel Walker retired in 1997 and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.