Everson Collins Walls(born December 28, 1959) is an American former professionalfootballplayer who was adefensive backin theNational Football League(NFL) for theDallas Cowboys,theNew York Giants,and theCleveland Browns.During his 14 seasons, he was a four-timePro Bowlselection. He was also a three-timeAll-Proselection. Walls won aSuper Bowlwith the Giants after the1990 season.He playedcollege footballfor theGrambling State Tigers.
| No. 24, 28 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | December 28, 1959 Dallas, Texas,U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 194 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Berkner(Richardson, Texas) | ||||||||
| College: | Grambling State | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1981 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Early life
editWalls was born and raised inRichardson, TX.He was nicknamed "Cubby" and he was raised by his mother two miles from theDallas Cowboyspractice facility. He played football atLloyd V. Berkner High SchoolinRichardson, Texas,where he only played one year offootball(senior year) and led the district in interceptions.
He was determined to playcollege football,and after high school, he enrolled atGrambling State University.At the time, his girlfriend was related to an assistant coach, whom Walls called regarding a walk-on spot. He was eventually invited to training camp and impressed legendary coachEddie Robinson,who arranged to meet with his mother about granting Walls a scholarship. He received a full ride and did not disappoint, earningDivision I-AAAll-Americanhonors while leading the nation with 11 interceptions his senior year.
Professional career
editDallas Cowboys
editPro scouts thought he was too slow for theNational Football Leagueafter he ran the 40-yard dash in a disappointing 4.72 seconds during workouts.[1]Eventually, however, his hometown Cowboys signed him as anundrafted free agent,entering the league as a 21-year-old. Although he was being targeted by opposing quarterbacks who were throwing away from more experienced players, he made an immediate impact by leading the league in interceptions as a backup,[2]until he was named the starter in the fifth game of the season and finished with a league leading 11 interceptions.[3]Coached by the legendaryTom Landry,he received aPro Bowlinvitation as a rookie for his contributions.[4]
In the1982strike-shortened season, he again led the league in interceptions after recording seven in just nine games. Surrounded by a strong defensive unit, which included players likeRandy WhiteandEd "Too Tall" Jones,Walls continued his outstanding play and again led the league in interceptions in1985with 9. In the history of theNFL,only he andsafetyEd Reedhave led the league in interceptions three times.
Walls receivedPro Bowlhonors four times (1981,1982,1983and1985). During this period of time however, the Cowboys were unable to win aSuper Bowl,as they lost theNFCtitle game in1981and1982and fell short again in1983and1985.Despite this, Walls remained one of the most feared covercornerbacksin the league; eventually,quarterbackswere forced to stop throwing the ball to his side. He led the Cowboys ininterceptionsfive seasons, tied withTerence Newmanfor leading the most seasons in franchise history.[5]
He also was known for his contract disputes with the Cowboys, which were eventually settled in1987,when Walls was given a three-year deal worth $5.05 million. This made him the second-highest paidcornerbackin the league.[6]
The team waived him at the end of the1989 season,because of a lack of production and an incident that happened after a loss to thePhoenix Cardinals,when head coachJimmy Johnsonsaw him talking with some friends among the Cardinals players.[7]His 44 interceptions ranks him second on the Cowboys career list.
New York Giants
editIn1990,Walls joined theNew York Giantsas afree agent,signing a two-year deal worth over one million dollars.[8]Walls started at safety for the first time in his career, and, on a standout defensive squad withLawrence Taylor,Leonard Marshall,andCarl Banks,he eventually called most of the defensive plays.[9]It was here that Walls would record his first and only career defensive touchdown, a game-clinching interception return against the Washington Redskins to get the Giants to 7–0 on the season.
Coached byBill Parcells,with defensive coordinatorBill Belichick,the Giants posted a 13–3 record and reached the NFC Championship game, where they traveled to San Francisco to face the two-time defendingSuper Bowlchampion 49ers. With a late field goal, the Giants were able to pull off the upset, 15–13, to advance toSuper Bowl XXV,where they met the AFC championBuffalo Bills.During the game, Walls made a critical play when he tackledThurman Thomasin the open field with less than two minutes to play - a tackle that likely stopped a suretouchdownfor the Bills. The Giants would win theSuper Bowl,20–19, onScott Norwood'smissed field goal attemptas time ran out. Walls was on theSports Illustratedcover photo as he was captured with his arms raised in victory after the Giants won the game.
In1992,he was a starter for 2 games, before being passed on the depth chart by second-year playerLamar McGriggs.He was released on October 21, after playing as a backup in 4 more games, while registering 12 tackles and one interception.[10]
Cleveland Browns
editOn October 23,1992,Walls signed with theCleveland Brownsas afree agent,reuniting with head coach and former Giants defensive coordinator Belichick.[11]After learning that he could not step backwards,defensive coordinatorNick Sabantaught Walls to move his hips and shuffle.[12]He played in 10 games with 5 starts and had 2 interceptions. In1993,he started 7 games before being released on October 27.[13]
In his final three professional seasons after he was switched tosafetyfrom thecornerbackposition, he recorded a total of seven interceptions.
Professional legacy
editWalls is one of the most prolific and decorated defensive backs to ever play in the game. He is one of only two players to lead the NFL in interceptions three times (Ed Reedis the other). He also led his Cowboys in interceptions a franchise-record five times, he ranks second in the team's career interceptions list and is 10th all-time on the career interceptions list, with 57. In addition, he shares the careerPro Bowlinterceptions record with four, and shares the single-game Pro Bowl record for interceptions with two. With experience underEddie Robinson,Tom Landry,Bill Parcells,Jimmy JohnsonandBill Belichick,Walls has had the privilege of working for some of the all-time greatestcoaches.He was named to the Cowboys 25th Year Anniversary Team.
Despite his accolades, Walls remains an outsider to thePro Football Hall of Fame.However, in his final year of eligibility he made it as a modern-era finalist for the first and only time, but did not make it past the cutdown from 15 to 10. If Walls makes it in the future, he will be selected through the hall of fame's Senior Committee.[14][15]On December 6, 2006, it was announced that Walls would be inducted into theSouthwestern Athletic ConferenceHall of Fame.[16]
He was also inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame, theLouisiana Sports Hall of Fameand the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2019, theProfessional Football Researchers Associationnamed Walls to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2019.[17]
Walls was named the 2010 FCS Championship game ambassador.
Walls was guardingDwight Clarkon a key play near the end of the 1981 NFC Championship, a reception that is remembered as "The Catch".A photograph of the catch, taken byWalter Iooss,with Clark at the height of his leap and Walls reaching out to try to block the ball, was featured on the cover ofSports Illustratedfollowing the game, in which the 49ers defeated the Cowboys 28–27. Nearly ten years later, Walls would again be featured on the cover ofSports Illustrated,but this time as a winner, celebrating the Giants Super Bowl XXV win over the Buffalo Bills (Feb 4, 1991).[18]
After signing with the Cowboys in August 2020, formerMinnesota Vikingspass rusherEverson Griffen,who grew up as a Cowboys fan, revealed that he was named after Walls.
Kidney donation
editOn Tuesday, December 12, 2006, it was announced that Walls would donate a kidney to former Cowboys teammateRon Springs,who had diabetes.[19]The surgery was successfully completed in March 2007.[20]
In 2009, he wrote the bookA Gift For Ron,detailing his experiences on and off the field including the decision to make the organ donation to Springs.
Awards
edit- Division I-AA first-team All-American (1980–81 season)
- Grambling State University Athletic Hall of Fame (1998)
- Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (1998)
- NFL Defensive Back of the Year (1982)
- NFL Pro Bowl (1981–83, 1985)
- Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame (2003)
- SWAC Hall of Fame (2006)
- Tom Landry Award (2007)
References
edit- ^"Everson Walls Biography".Archived fromthe originalon February 26, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
- ^"Pickoff king will start for Dallas".RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
- ^Rank, Adam (February 10, 2014)."NFL players from historically black colleges".National Football League.RetrievedFebruary 27,2014.
- ^"Pro Bowl Features Six Rookies".RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
- ^"Dallas Cowboys".
- ^"Comings and Goings".The New York Times.May 20, 1987.RetrievedJanuary 11,2007.
- ^"NFL Notebook".RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
- ^"Cowboys' Walls Is Joining Giants".Associated Press. April 30, 1990.RetrievedJanuary 11,2007.
- ^Holloman, Ray."Everson Walls: In His Words".Blackvoices.AOL BlackVoices.RetrievedJanuary 2,2009.
- ^Eskenazi, Gerald (October 22, 1992)."Giants Begin Overhaul By Releasing Walls".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
- ^"Browns Pick Up Former Giants".RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
- ^Vrentas, Jenny (January 18, 2018)."Belichick & Saban: The stories behind a friendship".Sports Illustrated.RetrievedJanuary 18,2019.
- ^"Transactions".The New York Times.October 28, 1993.RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
- ^"Terrell Owens, Everson Walls finalists for 2018 Pro Football HOF".
- ^"Longtime Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls falls short of Hall of Fame in final year of eligibility".February 3, 2018.
- ^"Walls to enter SWAC Hall of Fame".Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2007.RetrievedDecember 12,2006.
- ^"PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2019".RetrievedSeptember 14,2019.
- ^"The backstory to Walter Iooss' photo of".
- ^"Ex-Cowboy Walls gives kidney to former teammate".March 2007.RetrievedDecember 12,2016.
- ^"Former Cowboys teammates forever linked after transplant".RetrievedMarch 11,2007.[permanent dead link]