Editing Doak Walker (section)

===Honors and legacy===
Walker received numerous honors for his football career. His honors include the following:
* In 1955, the Detroit Lions retired his jersey (No. 37), the first uniform number retired by the Lions.<ref name=ltretdwn>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RGNTAAAAIBAJ&pg=5244%2C3691107 |newspaper=Victoria Advocate |location=Texas |agency=United Press |title=Lions to retire Doak Walker's jersey number |date=December 4, 1955 |page=14A }}</ref>
* In 1959, he was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Doak "The Doaker" Walker|publisher=National Football Foundation|access-date=November 8, 2017|url={{College Football HoF/url|id=1657}}}}</ref>
* In 1981, he received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] presented by Awards Council member [[Tom Landry]]. He was presented alongside fellow honoree [[Bobby Layne]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#sports}}</ref>
* In 1986, he was inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]. [[Bobby Layne]] presented Walker for his induction and said of Walker, "He was the greatest clutch player I ever saw. . . . I'll tell ya, if we were ahead 28–0 or somethin', you might not notice Doak on the field. But if it was a close game, everybody knew he was there and he would be the difference."<ref name=DFP86>{{cite news|title=Walker was the ultimate Lion|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=August 2, 1986|pages=1D, 2D|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15016430/walker_was_the_ultimate_lion/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
* The [[Doak Walker Award]], first awarded in 1990, is presented annually to the best running back in college football.<ref>{{cite news|title=Washington running back wins first Doak Walker award|newspaper=The Jackson Sun|date=December 8, 1990|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15051579/washington_running_back_wins_first_doak/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
* In 2007, Walker was ranked No. 4 on ESPN's list of the top 25 players in college football history.
* A statue of Walker was placed between [[Gerald Ford Stadium]] and SMU's Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports.

''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' writer [[Rick Reilly]] said of Walker shortly before his death:<blockquote>
"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.'"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/year/saying_goodbye/doak_walker/index.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000824105247/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/year/saying_goodbye/doak_walker/index.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=August 24, 2000 | title=1998 Year in Review – Saying Goodbye – Saying goodbye to Doak Walker | date= 1998-12-16 | publisher=CNN/SI | access-date=2007-08-26}}</ref></blockquote>

Shortly after Walker's death in 1998, [[Texas Longhorns football|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.