The Herschel Walker Trade- 20 Years Later

[MrKennedyKennedy]

We are fast approaching the anniversary of the Herschel Walker trade.

Nowdays, we consider it one of the smartest trades in team history that led to the rise of Dallas as a power in the 90s.

But, at the time, before the benefits came in, how devastated did you feel?

Did you think Dallas had been swindled, or did you think it would be a bold and smart decision?

 

[boscokt]

I don't see how we could have felt swindled.

 

[sonnyboy]

I was on this trade like white on rice. Other Cowboy fans I knew at the time hated it but I knew it was our best play.

Just like I knew Landry had to go for Johnson and how lucky we were to get Johnson. The Walker trade was just a necessary step in the makeover.

I didn't know if Johnson would succeed. But I believed in him, I believed Aikman would be great and now with all these picks, I thought we'd be a play-off team by 1991 and maybe a real contender by 1992 or 1993.

 

[Eskimo]

We were a no-talent franchise going nowhere with one tradeable commodity. We could go 1-15 with or without Herschel Walker. It was the Vikings who thought they were one player away from a Super Bowl that allowed such a lopsided trade to occur and tried to fit a square peg into a round hole only to find it did not fit.

Herschel Walker in the role of John Riggins with the Commanders in the early 80s could have set the all-time rushing record. He did not fit in with what the Vikings were trying to do on offense.

 

[lurkercowboy]

I remember thinking it was unfortunate, but a good move.

 

[mmillman]

I thought drafting Walker was genius when they did it and I though trading him was genius when they did it. Too many bad teams hold on to aging players that won't be there if and when they turn it around. Dallas was bad longer with Walker and helped build the team with parts from that trade.

 

[EndGame]

I was a teenager at the time, and I was sad to see Hershel traded away. I didn't care about the specifics of the trade at the time. I was a fan of the USFL and loved him when he played for the Generals, and was absolutely THRILLED to see him come to the Cowboys.

Of course, in retrospect, it was an amazing trade ... and he ended up being a Cowboys again in the end!

 

[Jaxonsdaddd]

Herschel was my favorite player and a part of me hated the trade but knew it was for the best.

On a side note, I cant believe that 20 years have gone by already. Enjoy these days as they go by as life is but a blink of an eye.

 

[dbair1967]

We are fast approaching the anniversary of the Herschel Walker trade.

Nowdays, we consider it one of the smartest trades in team history that led to the rise of Dallas as a power in the 90s.

But, at the time, before the benefits came in, how devastated did you feel?

Did you think Dallas had been swindled, or did you think it would be a bold and smart decision?

I didnt feel bad at all...I thought it was a tremendous move at the time because I knew we were rebuilding, plus as a Herschel fan I wanted to see him go to a good team.

I was also at the Dallas-Atlanta game in 1989, and Walker basically lost the game all by himself with two or three lost fumbles.

 

[Nors]

Walker was vastly overrated as a NFL football player

 

[Yeagermeister]

I was overseas at the time and didn't really know the details so I was bummed because he was one of our only good players.

 

[Cowboys22]

Back when that trade happened, draft picks were not as valued as they are now. In fact, that trade and the draft pick value chart developed by the Cowboys are the reason draft picks are soo valued today. Johnson did all he could to get as many picks as he could because he felt he knew the college talent very well and could put together a good team through the draft. He was proven right and changed the way the entire league looks at draft picks.

 

[Biggems]

i was either in 8th or 9th grade when the trade happened.....i remember being upset, but not so much. i was actually excited, cause i liked Isaac Holt.

I was more upset with how we fired Landry and how we got rid of Dorsett to keep Walker as our lone back.

THE TRADE was epic....but I believe that karma came back and bit us in the but with the Galloway trade and the seasons that followed. The football Gods giveth and the football Gods taketh away.

 

[AmishCowboy]

Jessie Soloman was a decent LB with the Vikings, I thought he would do more for us then he did.