Herschel Walker

Herschel Walker (born March 3, 1962 in Wrightsville, Georgia) was a professional American football player in the United States Football League and later, the National Football League.

Legacy

Walker was a highly popular and visible personality, even in his college days, as evidenced by the fact that both a thoroughbred and a standardbred race horse were named after him, the former while he was still in college; the thoroughbred, whose name was officially spelled as a single word — "Herschelwalker" — broke the track record for 5 furlongs (1006 m) at Belmont Park in his first start, then lost narrowly to Conquistador Cielo in a stakes race run at Saratoga in 1981 (the following year Conquistador Cielo would win the Belmont Stakes by 14 lengths and be named the champion 3-year-old colt of 1982). Since his retirement he has attracted little publicity, although he did make a guest appearance on The Hour of Power, hosted by noted televangelist Robert Schuller. Despite Walker's performance as a Minnesota Viking, his trade was widely perceived as an exceptionally poor move for 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 (indeed, in the history of Minnesota sports).

Related Topics:
Thoroughbred - Standardbred - Furlong - Belmont Park - Conquistador Cielo - Saratoga - 1981 - Belmont Stakes - 1982 - The Hour of Power - Televangelist - Robert Schuller

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Walker competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics in bobsled, finishing seventh.

Related Topics:
1992 Winter Olympics - Bobsled

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He also won back-to-back American Superstars competitions in 1987 and 1988.

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He is a born-again Christian who frequently talked about his faith during his USFL interviews.

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