It may be called the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but for all intents and purposes, it only focuses on accomplishments from the NFL and, to a lesser extent, the AFL. This is too bad for Herschel Walker, who chalked up monster totals in his first three years of Pro Football but did so as a member of the New Jersey Generals of the upstart United States Football League.
Walker went to the Dallas Cowboys and tried to live up to the PlayStation-like numbers he put up in College and in the USFL. Walker was still very good and put up good numbers for Dallas in both receiving and running the ball. He was, however, the focal point of one of the more lopsided trades in NFL history, where the Vikings sent five players and a multitude of draft picks (three of which were Emmitt Smith, Alvin Harper, and Darren Woodson). Dallas used this to build a dynasty in the ’90s, and Minnesota coaches took their frustration out on Walker, who wasn’t used to his best ability as a Viking. Herschel was still good, but his stock dropped dramatically.
That lopsided trade hurt his legacy, but Herschel Walker should be remembered as a great Running Back who contributed in pass and kick return situations. If he were a rookie today coming out of Georgia, where there is no USFL, would he have had a shot to shatter NFL rushing records?
Sadly, we will never know.
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