The Story And Significance Of Doak Walker - Ranked Third In NFL History At Retirement With 534 points Scored In Six NFL Seasons

Ewell Doak Walker II was an American professional football player for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He played college football as a halfback at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1948. Walker then played professionally in the NFL with the Lions for six seasons, from 1950 to 1955. 

Walker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. The Doak Walker Award, awarded annually since 1990 to the top running back in college football, is named after him.

Following his junior year at SMU, Walker was selected by the Boston Yanks with the third pick of in the 1949 NFL Draft, held in December 1948. The Detroit Lions acquired Walker's rights from Boston in exchange for John Rauch, whom the Lions had selected with the second pick of the 1949 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns held the AAFC to arbitrate their conflicting claims or flip a coin. Instead, the Browns agreed in January 1950 to forego their claim to Walker in exchange for the Lions' second pick in the 1950 NFL Draft.

In Detroit, Walker was reunited with former high school teammate Bobby Layne who the Lions acquired by trade in April 1950. The two Texans led the Lions to one of the top scoring offenses during the 1950 NFL season, as Layne led the NFL with 2,323 passing yards and Walker led the league with 128 points on five rushing touchdowns, six receiving touchdowns, 38 extra points, and eight field goals. Walker appeared in all 12 games for the 1950 Lions at the left halfback position; he rushed for 386 yards on 83 carries (4.7 yards per carry), caught 34 passes for 534 yards, and totaled 1,262 all-purpose yards. He was selected by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) as a first-team player on the 1950 All-Pro Team. His 128 points in 1950 was the second highest single-season total in NFL history to that time.

Walker had another strong season in 1951, appearing in all 12 games at left halfback for the Lions, totaling 1,270 all-purpose yards (fourth best in the NFL), scoring 97 points (third best in the NFL), and leading the NFL with 43 extra points. He was again selected by the AP and UP as a first-team All-Pro.

Walker suffered leg injuries that limited him to seven games during the 1952 season. He was fully recovered in time for the post-season and rushed for 97 yards and caught two passes against the Browns in the 1952 NFL Championship Game.

Healthy for the full 1953 season, Walker helped lead the Lions to their second consecutive NFL championship. He ranked third in the NFL with 93 points scored and totaled 978 all-purpose yards, including 502 receiving yards and 337 rushing yards. In the 1953 NFL Championship Game, he scored a touchdown and kicked a field goal and an extra point to account for 10 of the Lions' 17 points. At the end of the 1953 season, Walker was selected by the AP as a first-team All-Pro and by the UP as a second-team All-Pro.

In 1954, Walker helped lead the Lions to their third consecutive NFL Western Division championship. He led the NFL with 43 extra points (out of 43 attempted) and an average of 14.4 yards per touch. He ranked second in the NFL with 106 points scored and third with 11 field goals. He also kicked a field goal and an extra point in the 1954 NFL Championship Game and was selected by the AP, UP, and The Sporting News as a first-team back on the 1954 All-Pro Team.

In July 1955, Walker signed a contract worth $27,500 to play a final season for the Lions and to serve as a special scout for the Lions in Texas in 1956 and 1957. At age 28, Walker retired not because his abilities had diminished but because of the need to attend to multiple business interests in Texas. In his final season, he appeared in all 12 games for the Lions and led the NFL in scoring with 96 points. Walker scored 11 points in the final game of the season to secure the league's scoring title. His 1955 scoring title was remarkable given the fact that it was achieved while playing for a team that won only three games and compiled the worst record in the NFL.

On December 11, 1955, the day of Walker's final regular season game, the Lions held a "Doak Walker Day" at Briggs Stadium at which he was presented with a silver football engraved with the names of his teammates and coaches. Walker's jersey (No. 37) was also retired as part of the ceremony.

Walker's final NFL appearance was in the 1956 Pro Bowl at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 15, 1956.

At the time of his retirement, Walker ranked third in NFL history with 534 points scored (not including 21 post-season points) in six NFL seasons. Only Don Hutson (825 points in 11 seasons) and Bob Waterfield (573 points in eight seasons) had scored more points. Walker also totaled 1,520 rushing yards on 309 carries (4.9 yards per carry) and 152 receptions for 2,539 yards (16.7 yards per reception).

In March 1950, Walker married his college sweetheart, Norma Jane Peterson, at the Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas. His groomsmen included Bobby Layne and Kyle Rote. They had four children: Laurie ('52), Kris ('56), Russ ('60), and Scott ('63), but divorced in 1965. Walker married Olympic ski racer Skeeter Werner in 1969, and they lived in her hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Walker left pro football in 1955 to concentrate on his private business interests in sporting goods and as a sales executive with an electrical contracting company. Walker took a position as a coach with the Akron Vulcans of the Continental Football League. When the Vulcans owner was exposed as a con-artist and stopped paying his bills, Walker and his assistant coaches (Tobin Rote and Lou Rymkus being among them) kept the team alive as long as they could with funds out of their own pockets; Walker eventually quit before the team folded. He later founded Walker Chemicals in Denver, a company he sold upon retirement.

In January 1998, at age 71, Walker was paralyzed from the neck down in a skiing accident at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. After hitting a change in terrain, he flew 20 to 30 feet in the air and tumbled 75 feet. He died in September from injuries sustained in the accident.