DALLAS — On a stage Monday at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in a room full of roofing contractors, the men most responsible for the Cowboys’ last three world championships put aside any old grudges.
Herschel Walker and Jimmy Johnson, together for the first time in more than 30 years, hugging it out.
You didn’t think I meant Jimmy and Jerry Jones, did you?
Anthony Delmedico of Storm Ventures Group brokered the reunion to headline his “Win the Storm” convention. Herschel, running for a U.S. Senate seat in his home state of Georgia, and Jimmy, hawking a new book called, appropriately enough, “Swagger,” took the stage separately and together to tell the roofers a little about themselves and their roles in the biggest inflection point in Cowboys history.
Basically, as Jimmy told the crowd while inviting Herschel to join him on stage, it started with “what people say is the greatest trade in NFL history.”
Actually, ESPN ranked the deal second all time, behind the Colts’ trade of John Elway’s rights to the Broncos, but point taken.
Maybe you remember the Herschel trade: On Oct. 12, 1989, only five games into the Jimmy & Jerry era, the Cowboys sent their best player to the Vikings for a convoluted package of players and picks ultimately resulting in Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, Kevin Smith, Russell Maryland and three Lombardi Trophies.
For the record, the Cowboys wouldn’t have won those ‘90s Super Bowls had they not been beneficiaries of Mike Lynn’s largesse, which also spawned an ESPN 30 for 30 production and its own Wikipedia entry.
Of course, you can imagine how this might go over with Herschel. He didn’t want to be traded in the first place. Jerry paid him $1.25 million just to go along.
Even if the value he commanded in the trade return set up a mini-dynasty, it’s not like he got to enjoy it. His career was only briefly as good again. But it worked out pretty well for Jimmy, as everything generally does.
And, as usual, he couldn’t resist rubbing it in.
“I just want to thank Herschel for everything he’s done for me,” Jimmy said, “and everything he’s done for the Dallas Cowboys.”
Herschel smiled, but just barely.
Thirty-three years after the trade and long after their NFL careers have been over, Herschel and Jimmy still make news, a testimony to their star caliber. Asked by a roofer why he still works for Fox at 78 when he could remain in his beloved Florida Keys year-round, Jimmy said it’s difficult to motivate yourself when all you do is fish. “I want to stay active until the very end,” he said.
Herschel, who turns 60 on March 3, is a more complex story. He still looks like he could suit up. He recounted for the roofers the story of how an overweight boy with a stutter overcame his challenges to become maybe the greatest college football player ever. Only these days the story of his self-sculpture is up from 2,000 sit-ups and push-ups a day to 5,000. Makes you wonder how he had time to squeeze in any football.
Herschel’s history has ever been mysterious, though the Associated Press shone some light on it recently. Irving police reports revealed a 2011 incident in which Walker was a “suspect” in an incident where a girlfriend alleged he threatened to “blow her head off” and another from 10 years earlier where his therapist told police that Herschel was “volatile” and armed with a pistol. The earlier report indicates Herschel “talked about having a shootout with police.” He was not arrested or charged in either incident.
Herschel has acknowledged previous domestic violence issues and his history of mental health. He told the roofers Monday about a diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder. His campaign declined to make him available for media interviews.
Hardscrabble upbringing, perseverance and divine intervention were the themes of Herschel’s talk. Flipping a coin after high school to determine whether he’d go to college or join the Marine Corps. Pulling names out of a hat to decide between Clemson and Georgia. How an injury after his sophomore year kept him from leaving Georgia for the military.
“My whole life I’ve had a shovel,” Herschel said, “and I’ve been shoveling crap.”
Even so, life was pretty good in Dallas, especially in 1988, when he amassed 2,019 yards rushing and receiving. A quintessential I-formation tailback. Tom Landry didn’t run Herschel so much as launch him.
And then in ‘89, under the new regime, Herschel’s world turned upside down. On a morning jog, Jimmy told his assistants they didn’t have time for a typical NFL rebuild. Best shot at speeding up the process? Trade their Pro Bowl running back.
“Coach, you trade away Herschel,” Mike Shula told his boss, “and we won’t score a point.”
Undeterred, Jimmy floated the rumor that the Cowboys were considering offers. Ernie Accorsi, the Browns’ general manager, called to ask what it would take.
“It’s like Guy Lombardo,” Jimmy replied. “Uh one and uh two and a three . . . "
The line got no laugh from the roofers, who apparently don’t know their bandleaders.
Jimmy went to Jerry with the framework but told him he wanted to shop the deal around first. He called Lynn, the Vikings’ GM, with whom he had a relationship from a previous trade they tried to work involving Steve Walsh. Jimmy told Lynn that if he wanted Walker, they had to do a deal that day. Lynn, who considered Walker the Vikings’ missing piece, agreed to send five players, three draft picks and conditional picks to the Cowboys. Key word: “conditional.” Much to Lynn’s subsequent chagrin, Jimmy never had any intention of keeping the players. He only wanted picks.
By the time it all shook out, the Cowboys ended up with three firsts, three seconds, a third and a sixth.
“We could have been a lot better team if I could have had all those players and all those draft picks and Herschel, too,” Jimmy said. “But I knew I had to sacrifice something to jumpstart the thing.”
Herschel was a long time getting over the sacrifice. A bad fit for the Vikings’ pass-first offense, he lasted two mediocre seasons before they released him in 1992. After the Eagles picked him up, I went to Philadelphia to ask him about playing the team that traded him. He politely declined to answer any questions. The ‘92 season would be his last hurrah. He played three seasons in Philly and two with the Giants before a couple of token years in Dallas, after Jimmy was gone.
“The Great Train Robbery” is nearly 33 years old, and the hard feelings Herschel once harbored are no longer apparent.
“You traded me,” he told Jimmy, then, turning to his audience, said, “but I still love that guy. I respect people that are great leaders.
“And if I ever own a team, I want Jimmy Johnson to run it.”
Not much chance of either happening these days, but it probably shakes Jerry Jones from his sleep.
