7. Herschel Walker
Herschel Walker is considered one of the greatest college and professional football players of all time. He played for my alma mater, the University of Georgia, from 1980-1982. As a freshman, he led the Bulldogs to a national championship, and he won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.
Walker went on to play in the USFL (Remember them?) for the New Jersey Generals, a team owned by Donald Trump, before playing for a dozen years in the NFL, where he played for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants. Between the USFL and the NFL, Walker rushed for 13,787 yards, and in the NFL alone, he is the only player to have amassed 4,000 yards in each of three different ways: rushing, receiving, and kickoff returns.
He owns a successful Texas-based food service business and appeared on Trump’s reality competition The Celebrity Apprentice. In 2010, at the age of 47, he made his first appearance as a mixed martial arts fighter. He currently holds a 2-0 record in MMA. Earlier this year, he stated that he is considering making a return to the NFL when he turns 50. Clearly, Herschel Walker is an astounding athlete even in his late 40s.
Walker is a committed Christian, and his business acumen has been proven by his financial success after football. Though he lives in Texas, Walker’s legendary status still carries great weight here in Georgia, so he has campaigned for several Republican candidates over the years. He campaigned for Barbara Dooley, wife of his college coach Vince Dooley for the House of Representatives in 2002, the same year he campaigned for Senator Saxby Chambilss (R-GA), a fellow UGA alumnus. Dooley lost, but Chambliss was successful. He declined to identify himself as either a Republican or Democrat, but he called himself “a Bush fan.”
Next: A rookie who created quite a stir with a Super Bowl ad last year…
