Herschel Walker

High school

Johnson County High School

College

University of Georgia

Pro team(s)

New Jersey Generals (USFL), Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants

Herschel Junior Walker was born on March 3, 1962, in Wrightsville, Georgia (Johnson County), and attended Johnson County High School, where he was a state champion sprinter (9.1 seconds in the 100-yard dash), champion shot putter, and a football player of supernatural ability. As a freshman at the University of Georgia in 1980, he led the Bulldogs to a national championship, then followed it with the 1982 Heisman Trophy — one of the most dominant college football performances of the 20th century. He left Georgia after his junior year in 1983 to join the USFL's New Jersey Generals under Generals owner Donald Trump, where he won three USFL rushing championships, leading the entire league in rushing all three years. When the USFL folded, Walker moved to the Dallas Cowboys, setting up the most consequential trade in NFL history: the 1989 "Herschel Walker trade" in which the Vikings gave up five players and six draft picks (including multiple first-rounders) for Walker. Those draft picks became Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, and other cornerstones of the Dallas Cowboys' three Super Bowl championship teams of the 1990s. Walker also represented the United States in the two-man bobsled at the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics, demonstrating the kind of extraordinary athleticism that defined his entire life in sport. The football field at Johnson County High School is named in his honor. Born and raised in Wrightsville, Georgia.