On October 12, 1989 Jimmy Johnson and Mike Lynn agreed on a
trade that would go down as one of the most famous, (or infamous defending on
which side you were on) in NFL history. Dallas was 0-5 and Jimmy Johnson was looking
to move Herschel to build for the future.
Minnesota thought that Herschel could help them make a Superbowl run.
Here’s how it originally went down. Dallas Received5 players: Darrin Nelson, Jesse Solomon, David Howard Issiac Holt and Alex Stewart Minnesota Draft picks 1st: 1990 2nd: 1990 6th: 1990 Minnesota Received 1 player: Herschel WalkerDallas Draft picks 3rd: 1990, and 1991 10th: 1990 But it wasn’t over. Darrin Nelson refused to report to Dallas and was traded to San Diego for more picks. And even though the players Dallas received were better than most of his current players, Johnson knew that if he cut them, he would receive more (conditional) picks from the Vikings. He claimed publicly that he had just committed The Great Train Robbery. He told his coaches not to play them and informed the league of his intention to seek conditional picks and somehow worked out a deal with Mike Lynn to keep some of the players Solomon, Howard, and Holt) and the picks. In other words, it sounds like it could have been even worse. So here is how the final deal went. (Remember, this doesn’t even include the deals Dallas made with these picks to turn them into even more.) Dallas Received4 players: Jesse Solomon, David Howard, Issiac Holt and Alex Stewart (he was cut) Minnesota Draft picks: 1st: 1990, 1991 (conditional-Solomon), 1992 (conditional-Holt) 2nd: 1990, 1991 (conditional-Howard), 1992 (conditional-Nelson) 3rd: 1992 (conditional-Stewart) 6th: 1990 Minnesota Received 1 player: Herschel WalkerDallas Draft picks: 3rd: 1990, and 1991 5th: 1990 10th: 1990 1 Player: Darrin Nelson Salt in the wounds -Apparently Dallas originally contacted Cleveland and was ready to deal Herschel there, but Jimmy Johnson thought getting another team involved might sweeten the deal and possibly cause a bidding war. He contacted the Vikings because apparently Mike Lynn had mentioned something to Johnson about Herschel previously. -Herschel had be persuaded to agree to the deal. He received a large exit bonus from Dallas as well as a new house and a Mercedes from the Vikings. -Dallas fans and most of the media were not happy at the time of the trade. They felt what they were getting Minnesota was worthless. Jimmy Johnson’s Assistants weren’t real keen on it either. They tried to talk him out of it. -This was before the North Stars moved and after “Hail Mary/Drew Pearson Push off”. Minnesota seems to have an unhealthy cosmic sports connection to Dallas. Suck it Dallas! We all watched Herschel run out of his shoe in his first game with the Vikings. I’ll never forget exactly where I was and how excited I felt. I thought that this could be it. I was 16 years old. Herschel only played with the Vikings for 2 more season after that. He signed to play with Philadelphia in 1992. The painful irony of the situation is that the draft picks lasted longer for Dallas than Herschel did in Minnesota. While Herschel moved on to Philly and the Cowboys were headed to Jimmy Johnson’s first Superbowl (1992 season), the Vikings were still paying for it and had to sit there and watch it all.
References: Pro Football Reference Wikipedia |
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