Herschel Walker

Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962 in Wrightsville, Georgia) is a former American football running back in the United States Football League for the New Jersey Generals and in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and the New York Giants.

Walker attended and played college football at the University of Georgia, where he was awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1982. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

United States Football League (1983 - 1985)

In the formation of the United States Football League, Walker saw an opportunity to do something then forbidden by NFL rules, namely, to turn professional after the end of his junior season rather than wait for his collegiate class to graduate (four years after the high-school graduation of his peer group). He also sought to choose where he would play professionally, as he felt he could make considerable money from product endorsements; as he was quoted on one occasion: "I don't know if I would want to play in the NFL unless it was for the two New York teams or the Dallas Cowboys." (As it turned out, however, Walker attracted only one major advertising deal, in a joint promotion by McDonald's and athletic-shoe manufacturer Adidas; in the ad, Walker's line was, "First the Big Mac meal-then the Adidas deal," referring to discount coupons on Adidas merchandise that accompanied the purchase of a Big Mac at McDonald's).

With endorsement considerations in mind, Walker signed with the New Jersey Generals in 1983, owned by Oklahoma oilman J. Walter Duncan, who after the 1983 season sold the team to real-estate mogul Donald Trump. In order to circumvent the league-mandated $1.8-million salary cap, Walker signed a personal services contract with Duncan (later compensated by Trump) to the protest of no one, as the other owners appreciated Walker's name value to the league. Similar arrangements were made later when other big-name college stars signed with the league. Although this move was challenged in court, Walker and the USFL prevailed, and Walker began play with the Generals. He went on to win the USFL rushing title in 1983 and 1985 and in the latter year also gaining over 4,000 yards in total offense. He holds the professional football record for single-season rushing yards with 2,411 yards in 1985, averaging 5.50 yards per attempt in 18 games.

In his USFL career, Walker had 5,562 yards rushing in 1,143 carries, averaging 4.87 yards per carry, during his three seasons with the Generals. In 1983, he rushed for 1,812 yards in 18 games. In his second pro season, his rushing yardage dropped to 1,339, but he caught passes for more than 800 yards giving him over 2,100 yards in total offense.


National Football League (1986 - 1997)

The Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, suspecting that the USFL was not going to last, acquired Walker's NFL rights by drafting him in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft. When the USFL in fact succumbed after its technically successful, but financially fruitless antitrust suit against the NFL in 1986, Walker went to play for the Cowboys, eventually establishing himself as a premier NFL running back with two consecutive Pro-Bowl seasons (1987 and 1988).

In 1989, at the height of his NFL career, the Cowboys traded Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a total of five players (LB Jesse Solomon, DB Issiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, DE Alex Stewart) and six draft picks (which led to Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson). This was judged to be one of the turning points in the rise of the Cowboys to the top echelon of the NFL. Nicknamed the "HWT" (Herschel Walker Trade), Walker's trade was widely perceived as an exceptionally poor move considering what the Vikings had to give up in order to get him, and remains one of the most frequently vilified roster moves of the team's history. The Vikings coaches reluctantly accepted Walker after the trade and never totally used the tool they had been given. Scout.com says, "but Walker was never used properly by the coaching brain trust (a total oxymoron in this case)." "Herschel the Turkey," a mocking "honor" given out by the Star Tribune newspaper to particularly inept or disgraceful Minnesota sports personalities, is named for him.

Walker played for the Vikings for two and a half years, never amassing 1,000 rushing yards in a season. His rights were then acquired by the Philadelphia Eagles, and, subsequently, the New York Giants. Eventually, he was re-acquired by the Cowboys, where he was used not only as a running back but as a flanker and other offensive positions as well. In addition to running and catching passes, Walker was also often used to return kickoffs throughout his career.


MMA Career

In November 2007, Walker appeared on the HDNet show Inside MMA as a guest. He indicated that he would take part in a mixed martial arts reality show in the near future (along with José Canseco) and that he would have an official MMA fight at the conclusion of the show.

In September 2009, it was announced that Herschel had been signed by MMA promotion Strikeforce to compete in their heavyweight division. He began a 12-week training camp with trainer "Crazy" Bob Cook, at the American Kickboxing Academy California in October 2009. American Kickboxing Academy is the high-profile camp in San Jose, Calif., that trains UFC standouts Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Jon Fitch, Cain Velasquez, as well as former Strikeforce champions Josh Thomson (lightweight) and Cung Le (middleweight).

"I've been training for several years. I would play college football games on Saturday and then compete in martial arts tournaments on Sunday after church. I'm now looking forward to opening up another chapter in my life and to competing in MMA," said Walker in a news release.

Walker defeated Greg Nagy via TKO in his professional debut. According to the Strikeforce CEO, Walker pledged to donate his fight purse to charity.

Herschel Walker #34
Running Back