Billy Sims
Encyclopedia
Billy Sims is a former college football
and NFL
running back
. He won the Heisman Trophy
in 1978.
, but in the eighth grade he moved to Hooks, Texas
, to live with his grandmother. In three years of varsity football at Hooks High School, he rushed 1,128 times (a state record at the time, currently second behind Robert Strait
) for 7,738 yards, including 441 carries in 1973 (another state record at the time, currently tied for second behind Ketric Sanford
). He continues to hold the state record for most consecutive games with 100 yards or more, 38 (1972–1974).
by Barry Switzer
. After injuries kept him out of the line-up for most of his freshman and half of his sophomore seasons (rushing for only 545 yards in two seasons plus one game of 1976), in his junior season he cut loose, picking up 1,762 yards on 231 carries for an amazing average of 7.6 yards per carry (160.1 yards and 10.9 points per-game) for the regular season. Including the post-season Sims had 1,896 yards, a total yardage school record that stood until 2004 when freshman Adrian Peterson tallied up 1,925. In 1978 Sims was awarded the Heisman Trophy
, becoming only the sixth junior to do so. He was runner up the following season in 1979. He led the nation in rushing with 1,896 yards and had 22 touchdowns. He also became the first running back in Big 8 Conference
(now merged to form the Big 12 Conference
) history to rush for 200-yards in three consecutive games, and had four 200-yard games in a single season.
After losing to the University of Arkansas
31–6 in 1978, Sims led the Sooners to two consecutive Orange Bowl titles in three straight appearances. In the Orange Bowl following the 1978 season, he scored two touchdowns in a 31–24 win over the University of Nebraska. In 1979 against then-unbeaten Nebraska, who had the No. 1 rushing defense in the country at the time, Sims ran for 247 yards and helped the Sooners to a 17–14 win. In his final game as a Sooner, he helped defeat Florida State University
, 24–7, rushing for 164 yards. He ended his career at OU with 3,813 yards; most of those yards came in his final two seasons.
. He spent his only five years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions
, making the Pro Bowl in 1980, 1981, and 1982. Sims led Detroit to the playoffs in 1982 and 1983, but they would go on to lose in the first round in both appearances. The 1983 Wild Card Game was perhaps most disappointing. At Candlestick Park against the San Francisco 49ers
, Sims ran for 114 yards on 20 carries, but Joe Montana
would go on to lead the 49ers to a comeback victory, as Detroit kicker Eddie Murray missed a field goal in the waning moments.
Sims career would ultimately end midway through the 1984 season when he suffered a catastrophic knee injury in a game against the Minnesota Vikings
. Sims finished his short professional career with 1131 carries for 5106 yards (4.5 yards per carry), and 186 receptions for 2072 yards (11.1 yards per catch). Sims remains a beloved former sports figure in Detroit. His number "20" would go on to be worn five years after his retirement by Barry Sanders
, and is currently retired as an unofficial "Triumvirate" of the greatest Lions in the modern era to ever wear the number, which also includes Hall of Fame
defensive back Lem Barney
.
He was given the nickname "Kung Fu Billy Sims" by ESPN's Chris Berman, after a game where the Detroit Lions played the Houston Oilers. In the NFL Films
highlight, rather than be tackled during a rushing attempt, Sims ran at, jumped, and, while fully airborne, kicked the Oiler's tackler in the head.
, where he worked for a short period in the University of Oklahoma athletic department.
He now serves as a vice president with AmericaCan, a non-profit organization, and licenses the use of his name to Billy Sims Barbecue. Sims also makes appearances for sports marketing firms.
In 2007, a bronze statue of Sims was dedicated on the University of Oklahoma campus in Heisman Park, commemorating his 1978 award. The life and one half size statue was created by Sculptor Jim Franklin in his Studio in Perry, OK. The bronze was cast by the Bronze Horse Foundry in Pawhuska, OK.
He has enthusiastically tried to start the "Boomer! Sooner!" Oklahoma cheer immediately following the naming of the winner at the Heisman Trophy induction ceremonies of the two most recent Oklahoma Sooner winners, Jason White
and Sam Bradford
and held up a sign reading "Boomer" during the 2009 Heisman ceremony. Many in the media have criticized his antics as upstaging the winner. On December 16, 2008 he apologized to those upset by his behavior and said that he hoped his actions had not reflected poorly on the University of Oklahoma. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. A hero in his hometown of Hooks, Texas
, there is a city road named Billy Sims Road and the local library wall is adorned with his photos.
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
. He won the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
in 1978.
Early years
Sims grew up in St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, but in the eighth grade he moved to Hooks, Texas
Hooks, Texas
Hooks is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Texarkana, Texas - Texarkana, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Hooks is located at ....
, to live with his grandmother. In three years of varsity football at Hooks High School, he rushed 1,128 times (a state record at the time, currently second behind Robert Strait
Robert Strait
Robert Strait is a former American football running back.Strait is considered one of the best high school football players in Texas history. While playing at Cuero High School from 1985–88, Strait rushed for 8,411 yards on a state-record 1,131 carries and scored 841 points...
) for 7,738 yards, including 441 carries in 1973 (another state record at the time, currently tied for second behind Ketric Sanford
Ketric Sanford
Ketric Sanford is an American football running back.A native of Corsicana, Texas, Sanford prepped at Corsicana High School under coach Tom Wilson from 1993 to 1995. Sanford carried the ball 1,058 times and as of 2011, fourth all-time in Texas high school football behind , Robert Strait and Billy...
). He continues to hold the state record for most consecutive games with 100 yards or more, 38 (1972–1974).
University of Oklahoma
In 1975, he was recruited to the University of OklahomaUniversity of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
by Barry Switzer
Barry Switzer
Barry Switzer is a former football coach, active in the college and professional ranks between 1962 and 1997. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history, and is one of only two head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a...
. After injuries kept him out of the line-up for most of his freshman and half of his sophomore seasons (rushing for only 545 yards in two seasons plus one game of 1976), in his junior season he cut loose, picking up 1,762 yards on 231 carries for an amazing average of 7.6 yards per carry (160.1 yards and 10.9 points per-game) for the regular season. Including the post-season Sims had 1,896 yards, a total yardage school record that stood until 2004 when freshman Adrian Peterson tallied up 1,925. In 1978 Sims was awarded the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
, becoming only the sixth junior to do so. He was runner up the following season in 1979. He led the nation in rushing with 1,896 yards and had 22 touchdowns. He also became the first running back in Big 8 Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
(now merged to form the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
) history to rush for 200-yards in three consecutive games, and had four 200-yard games in a single season.
After losing to the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
31–6 in 1978, Sims led the Sooners to two consecutive Orange Bowl titles in three straight appearances. In the Orange Bowl following the 1978 season, he scored two touchdowns in a 31–24 win over the University of Nebraska. In 1979 against then-unbeaten Nebraska, who had the No. 1 rushing defense in the country at the time, Sims ran for 247 yards and helped the Sooners to a 17–14 win. In his final game as a Sooner, he helped defeat Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, 24–7, rushing for 164 yards. He ended his career at OU with 3,813 yards; most of those yards came in his final two seasons.
Detroit Lions
Sims was the first overall pick in the 1980 NFL DraftNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
. He spent his only five years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, making the Pro Bowl in 1980, 1981, and 1982. Sims led Detroit to the playoffs in 1982 and 1983, but they would go on to lose in the first round in both appearances. The 1983 Wild Card Game was perhaps most disappointing. At Candlestick Park against the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, Sims ran for 114 yards on 20 carries, but Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
would go on to lead the 49ers to a comeback victory, as Detroit kicker Eddie Murray missed a field goal in the waning moments.
Sims career would ultimately end midway through the 1984 season when he suffered a catastrophic knee injury in a game against the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. Sims finished his short professional career with 1131 carries for 5106 yards (4.5 yards per carry), and 186 receptions for 2072 yards (11.1 yards per catch). Sims remains a beloved former sports figure in Detroit. His number "20" would go on to be worn five years after his retirement by Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...
, and is currently retired as an unofficial "Triumvirate" of the greatest Lions in the modern era to ever wear the number, which also includes Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
defensive back Lem Barney
Lem Barney
Lemuel Joseph "Lem" Barney is a former American Football cornerback who played for the Detroit Lions. He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.-College years:...
.
He was given the nickname "Kung Fu Billy Sims" by ESPN's Chris Berman, after a game where the Detroit Lions played the Houston Oilers. In the NFL Films
NFL Films
NFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...
highlight, rather than be tackled during a rushing attempt, Sims ran at, jumped, and, while fully airborne, kicked the Oiler's tackler in the head.
Post-NFL years
After his NFL retirement, he lost millions through numerous bad business deals and risky investments. There was a dinette manufacturer, a mini-supermarket, a nightclub, a chain of eyeglass stores, a pipe-fitting company, an apartment complex, a brass company, a car parts manufacturer, a company that made adhesive sealer for car paint and a small chain of catfish restaurants. He also invested in a radio station, a dry cleaner, and a water purifying business. He filed for bankruptcy in 1990. He divorced his wife Brenda, a junior high school teacher, who remained in Hooks, where she raised their four children. Following his divorce, he moved back to Norman, OklahomaNorman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
, where he worked for a short period in the University of Oklahoma athletic department.
He now serves as a vice president with AmericaCan, a non-profit organization, and licenses the use of his name to Billy Sims Barbecue. Sims also makes appearances for sports marketing firms.
In 2007, a bronze statue of Sims was dedicated on the University of Oklahoma campus in Heisman Park, commemorating his 1978 award. The life and one half size statue was created by Sculptor Jim Franklin in his Studio in Perry, OK. The bronze was cast by the Bronze Horse Foundry in Pawhuska, OK.
He has enthusiastically tried to start the "Boomer! Sooner!" Oklahoma cheer immediately following the naming of the winner at the Heisman Trophy induction ceremonies of the two most recent Oklahoma Sooner winners, Jason White
Jason White (American football)
Jason White is a former American football quarterback who played for the University of Oklahoma from 1999 to 2004, during which he won the 2003 Heisman Trophy...
and Sam Bradford
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and played college football at Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a...
and held up a sign reading "Boomer" during the 2009 Heisman ceremony. Many in the media have criticized his antics as upstaging the winner. On December 16, 2008 he apologized to those upset by his behavior and said that he hoped his actions had not reflected poorly on the University of Oklahoma. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. A hero in his hometown of Hooks, Texas
Hooks, Texas
Hooks is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Texarkana, Texas - Texarkana, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Hooks is located at ....
, there is a city road named Billy Sims Road and the local library wall is adorned with his photos.
Career statistics
- High School (Hooks High School 1972–74, High School Coach: Jack Coleman)
-
- Consecutive 100-yard games: 38 (state record)
- Total 100-yard games: 38
- Total points: 516
- Carries-season: 441 (1973; 378 in 1974)
- Rushing yards in a seasons: 3,080 (1973; 2,885 in 1974)
- Career carries: 1,128
- Total yards: 7,738
- Collegiate
- Two-time All-American (19781978 College Football All-America TeamThe 1978 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
, 19791979 College Football All-America TeamThe 1979 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
) - 1978 Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
Winner - 1978 Walter Camp AwardWalter Camp AwardThe Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football Player of the Year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A head coaches and sports information directors under the auspices of the Walter Camp Football Foundation;...
- 1978 AP & UPIUnited Press InternationalUnited Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
College Player of the Year - 1978 UPI Player of the YearUPI College Football Player of the YearThe United Press International College Football Player of the Year Award was among the first and most recognized college football awards. With the demise of UPI in 1997 the award was discontinued. Offensive and defensive players were eligible. Tommy Nobis was the runner-up that season...
- 1978 Sporting News Player of the YearSporting News College Football Player of the YearBeginning in 1942 The Sporting News, now known as Sporting News, awarded the top collegiate football player its own award. The publication picked players that often were not seriously considered by the Downtown Athletic Club, who voted on the Heisman Trophy, such as underclassman or defensive...
- 1978 Harley Award WinnerChic Harley AwardThe Chic Harley Award is presented by the Touchdown Club of Columbus to the College Football Player of the Year. The winner is selected by a committee of college football coaches, and is named after Ohio State All-America football legend, Chic Harley. It was first presented to Ohio State's Howard...
- 1979 Heisman Runner-Up
- Orange Bowl Hall of Fame Trophy
- Big Eight Player of the Year (1978, 1979)
- Career carries: 538
- Rushing yards per-carry: 7.1
- Total yards: 4,118 (4,041 rushing; 3,890 regular season; 3,813 rushing – 77 receiving)
- Touchdowns: 52 (50 rushing)
- Total points: 312 (126 in 1978, 132 in 1979)
- Two-time All-American (1978
- NFL
- 3-Time Pro-Bowl selection
- 32nd – NFL All-Time Rushing Yards Per-Carry (4.515)
- 75th, along with Calvin HillCalvin HillCalvin G. Hill is a retired American football running back who had a 12-year NFL career from 1969 to 1981. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns...
& Don PerkinsDon PerkinsDonald Anthony Perkins is a former American football halfback who spent eight seasons with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.-Early years:...
, – NFL All-Time Rushing Touchdowns (42) - 92nd – NFL All-Time Rushing Yardage (5,106)