Billy Ray Sims (born September 18, 1955) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back for five seasons with theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League (NFL) from 1980 to 1984. Sims playedcollege football for theOklahoma Sooners, earning consensusAll-American honors twice, and winning theHeisman Trophy in 1978. He was selected by the Lions withfirst overall pick of the1980 NFL draft. After threePro Bowl selections, his career was prematurely ended by a knee injury suffered in 1984.
Sims was the last Oklahoma player taken number one overall in the NFL draft until quarterbackSam Bradford was taken first in the2010 draft.[1][2]
Sims was nicknamed "Kung Fu Billy Sims" byESPN'sChris Berman, following a game between the Lions and theHouston Oilers. In theNFL Films highlight, rather than be tackled during a rushing attempt, Sims ran at, jumped, and, while fully airborne, kicked Oilers cornerbackSteve Brown in the head.[3]
Sims was born inSt. Louis,Missouri. In eighth grade, he moved toHooks, Texas, to live with his grandmother. Sims initially played baseball and grew up aSt. Louis Cardinals fan. He showed no interest in football until moving to Texas.[1]
In three years of varsity football atHooks High School, he rushed 1,128 times, setting a state record at the time that is currently second behindRobert Strait, for 7,738 yards, including 441 carries in 1973, another state record at the time, currently tied for second behindKetric Sanford. Sims' 38 games with 100 yards or more rushing from 1972 to 1974 is tied for third in all-time Texas high school records withKen Hall andSteve Worster and behindRobert Strait's 41 games, and Wes Danaher's 43 100-yard games.[4]
Sims attended theUniversity of Oklahoma, where he played for coachBarry Switzer'sOklahoma Sooners football team from 1975 to 1979. After playing only one game in his freshman year of 1975, injuries kept Sims out of the lineup for most of his sophomore season, which allowed him to red-shirt to gain an extra year of eligibility. Injuries continued to plague Sims for half of his (red-shirt) sophomore season in 1977 (he rushed for only 545 yards total in two seasons in 1975 and 1977, plus one game in 1976.) In 1978, Sims rushed for 1,762 yards on 231 carries as a red-shirt junior, averaging 7.6 yards per carry. Including the postseason, Sims had 1,896 yards. Both the before and after bowl game totals led the NCAA. He also set a total yardage school record that stood until 2004, when freshmanAdrian Peterson ran for 1,925 yards. Subsequently, Sims was awarded theHeisman Trophy for the 1978 season, becoming only the sixth junior to do so.[5][6] He was runner-up for the Heisman the following season in 1979, coming in second toCharles White ofUSC.[7]
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. Including the bowl game he had 248 attempts for 1,670 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per carry, and scored 23 touchdowns. He also became the first running back inBig 8 Conference (now merged to form theBig 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 theArkansas Razorbacks 31–6 in 1978, Sims led the Sooners to two consecutiveOrange Bowl titles in three straight appearances. In the Orange Bowl following the 1978 season, he rushed for 134 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 31–24 win over theNebraska Cornhuskers. In his final game, he ran for 164 yards as Oklahoma beat the previously undefeatedFlorida State Seminoles by a score of 24–7. Sims ended his career at OU with 3,813 yards; most of those yards came in his final two seasons.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Big 8 record | |
| Led the Big 8 | |
| NCAA Record | |
| Led the NCAA | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Billy Sims | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 1975 | Oklahoma | 11 | 15 | 95 | 6.3 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| 1976 | Oklahoma | 11 | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| 1977 | Oklahoma | 12 | 71 | 413 | 5.8 | 6 | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | Oklahoma | 11 | 231 | 1,762 | 7.6 | 20 | 1 | 35 | 35.0 | 0 |
| 1979 | Oklahoma | 11 | 224 | 1,506 | 6.7 | 22 | 1 | 42 | 42.0 | 0 |
| Career[8] | 56 | 544 | 3,820 | 7.0 | 48 | 2 | 77 | 38.5 | 0 | |
* Includes bowl games.
As was widely expected,[9] Sims was the first overall pick in the1980 NFL draft. He spent his career with theDetroit Lions, making thePro Bowl in 1980, 1981, and 1982. Sims led Detroit to the playoffs in 1982 and 1983, but they lost in their first game in both appearances. In the 1983 NFC divisional playoff game atCandlestick Park against theSan Francisco 49ers, Sims ran for 114 yards on 20 carries, butJoe Montana led the 49ers to a comeback victory, as Detroit kickerEddie Murray missed a potential game-winning field goal in the waning moments.
In 1983, Sims' agent, Jerry Argovitz, took control of aUSFL expansion franchise, theHouston Gamblers. On July 1, 1983, while seeking a new pact from the Lions, Sims secretly signed a five-year, $3.5 million contract with the Gamblers; in December, he also signed a new, five-year, $4.5 million contract extension with Detroit. The matter wound up in court, and on February 10, 1984, a federal judge voided the Houston pact, sending Sims back to Detroit.[10]
Sims' career ultimately ended midway through the 1984 season when he suffered a catastrophic right knee injury in a game against theMinnesota Vikings on October 21; in that game, Sims set the all-time Lions rushing record (now held byBarry Sanders) with 5,106 yards on 1,131 carries, or 4.5 yards per carry.[11] Sims also caught 186 passes for 2,072 yards (11.1 yards per catch). He spent two years attempting to rehabilitate his knee before finally retiring in 1986.[12]
Sims remains a beloved sports figure in Detroit.[13] His team uniform number 20 was worn five years after his retirement byBarry Sanders, and is currently retired as an unofficial "triumvirate" of the greatest Lions in the modern era to ever wear the number, which also includesHall of Famedefensive backLem Barney.
In 1988, four years after the knee injury that forced his retirement, Sims announced he was attempting a comeback with the Lions for the1989 season, which would be Sanders' rookie year. He toldDetroit Free Press columnistMitch Albom, that he was "as fit as he was in 1983." He offered to play the season with ablank check, allowing Lions management to assess his value and fill in the salary amount accordingly. Sims hoped to meet with Lions general managerRuss Thomas and ownerWilliam Clay Ford Sr. to discuss a spot on the team's roster.[14] Despite some interest from Lions head coachWayne Fontes,[15] Sims never returned to the NFL.
| Year | Team | GP | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | |||
| 1980 | DET | 16 | 313 | 1,303 | 4.2 | 52 | 13 | 51 | 621 | 12.2 | 87 | 3 |
| 1981 | DET | 14 | 296 | 1,437 | 4.9 | 51 | 13 | 28 | 451 | 16.1 | 81 | 2 |
| 1982 | DET | 9 | 172 | 639 | 3.7 | 29 | 4 | 34 | 342 | 10.1 | 52 | 0 |
| 1983 | DET | 13 | 220 | 1,040 | 4.7 | 41 | 7 | 42 | 419 | 10.0 | 54 | 0 |
| 1984 | DET | 8 | 130 | 687 | 5.3 | 81 | 5 | 31 | 239 | 7.7 | 20 | 0 |
| Career | 60 | 1,131 | 5,106 | 4.5 | 81 | 42 | 186 | 2,072 | 11.1 | 87 | 5 | |
When Sims retired from theDetroit Lions in 1984, he received a $1.9 million insurance settlement fromLloyd's of London, in addition to several million dollars he earned during his playing career.[16] Sims lost his accumulated wealth through a series of failed business ventures. His numerous businesses included a nightclub, a radio station, a dry cleaner, and a car parts manufacturer.
In 1995, he sold hisHeisman Trophy to Texas businessman Bob White, who had been a father figure to Sims since he was in the ninth grade; White's son played high school football with Sims.[17] The trophy was sold to White with the agreement that it could be re-purchased by Sims by paying the original price plus 8.5% interest.[18]
In 2007, a bronze statue of Sims was dedicated on the University of Oklahoma campus in Heisman Park, commemorating his 1978 award.[19] Thelife and one half size statue was created by sculptor Jim Franklin in his studio inPerry, Oklahoma. The bronze was cast by the Bronze Horse Foundry inPawhuska, Oklahoma.
Sims has led a"Boomer! Sooner!" chant at the Heisman Trophy presentation whenever a Sooner wins the trophy. He has done so for the four most recent Sooner winners,Jason White,Sam Bradford,Baker Mayfield, andKyler Murray. He held up a sign reading "Boomer" during the 2009 Heisman ceremony.
In 1995, he was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame. Sims is honored inHooks, Texas with Billy Sims Road named in his honor. The local library displays a collection of his photos;[20][21] Sims said while at Oklahoma that he preferred his home town to big cities.[9] He maintains 30+Billy Sims Barbecue restaurants franchises with co-founder Jeff Jackson.[22] BeforeJoe Burrow was announced to win the 2019 Heisman, Sims yelled "Boomer", in hopesJalen Hurts would win theHeisman Trophy.
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