Doak Walker Ewell Doak Walker , Jr . ( January 1 , 1927 – September 27 , 1998 ) was a professional football player , a running back in the National Football League with the Detroit Lions for six seasons in the 1950s . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 . Early life . Born in Dallas , Texas , Walker attended Highland Park High School in University Park where he was a multi - sport athlete . He and future college and NFL star Bobby Layne were teammates at Highland Park . College career . Walker played college football at Southern Methodist University ( SMU ) in Dallas , where he was a running back , defensive back , and place kicker . He also threw and caught passes , punted , and returned kicks . He was a three - time All - America n , in 1947 , 1948 , and 1949 . He won the Maxwell Award as a sophomore in 1947 and the Heisman Trophy in 1948 as a junior . Walker ' s impact on SMU and football in the Dallas area led to the Cotton Bowl being referred to as " The House That Doak Built . " Walker was also a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity , the men ' s honorary Cycen Fjodr and lettered on the SMU basketball and baseball teams . In 2007 , he was ranked # 4 on ESPN ' s list of the top 25 players In college football history . NFL career . Walker was selected third overall in the 1949 NFL Draft in December 1948 by the Boston Yanks . The Detroit Lions acquired his draft rights in January 1950 , where he was once again played with former high school teammate Bobby Layne . Although Walker was only and , he was voted All - Pro four times , and he helped lead the Lions to consecutive NFL championships in 1952 and 1953 . Walker also led the NFL in scoring twice ( 1950 and 1955 ) and tallied 534 points in his career ( 330 on field goals and extra points ) . In honor of his achievements , the Lions retired his number 37 . He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame , inducted in 1986 . Post NFL . Walker married his high school sweetheart , and they had four children . He later married Olympic skier Skeeter Werner . Doak Walker died in September 1998 as a result of paralyzing injuries suffered in a skiing accident eight months earlier . His death came 50 years to the day that he was featured on the cover of " LIFE " Magazine in 1948 . He is immortalized by the annual Doak Walker Award , given to the best running back in college football , and by a statue placed between Gerald Ford Stadium and SMU ' s state - of - the - art Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports . Legacy . Award - winning " Sports Illustrated " writer Rick Reilly said of Walker shortly before his death : " He ' s Doak Walker , and he was as golden as golden gets . He had perfectly even , white teeth and a jaw as square as a deck of cards and a mop of brown hair that made girls bite their necklaces . He was so shifty you couldn ' t have tackled him in a phone booth , yet so humble that he wrote the Associated Press a thank - you note for naming him an All - American . Come to think of it , he was a three - time All - American , twice one of the Outstanding Players in the Cotton Bowl , a four - time All - Pro . He appeared on 47 covers , including " Life " , " Look " and " Collier ' s " . One time , Kyle Rote , another gridiron golden boy , saw a guy buying a football magazine at a newsstand . ' Don ' t buy that one , ' Rote said . ' It ' s not official . It doesn ' t have a picture of Doak Walker on the cover . ' " However , fellow " Sports Illustrated " writer Paul Zimmerman cited Walker as the least deserving member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Shortly after Walker ' s death in 1998 , Texas running back Ricky Williams wore Walker ' s number 37 in a game as opposed to his customary number 34 in remembrance of Walker . Williams would go on to set the NCAA all - time rushing record that season ( though it has since been eclipsed by Ron Dayne ) , winning the Heisman Trophy in the process .