BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…March 3, 1962:
The birthday of Herschel Walker, a three-time Consensus All-American and winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy. Walker is ranked as one of the greatest college football players of all time after rushing for 5,259 yards and 49 touchdowns in just three seasons with Georgia. The Bulldogs won the national championship when Walker was a sophomore, the last title they’d capture until Georgia won another in January with its victory over Alabama.
Walker’s pro career began with the upstart USFL the following spring, and he spent three seasons with the New Jersey Generals before signing with the Dallas Cowboys in 1986. Walker was the focus of the blockbuster 1989 trade with Minnesota that the Cowboys used to build their Super Bowl teams of the early 1990s. The Vikings gave up five players and five future draft choices to get him. One of the draft picks would be Emmitt Smith, who ironically went on to become the NFL’s career rushing leader.
Walker played 2½ seasons with Minnesota, followed by stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He returned to Dallas for his final two seasons and retired after the 1997 season. In the middle of his NFL career, Walker earned a trip to the 1992 Winter Olympics as a member of the U.S. bobsled team. He and his partner finished seventh in the two-man competition. Walker is now running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Georgia. Herschel Walker…60 years old today.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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