Billy Ray Sims (born September 18, 1955) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1980s. Sims played college football for the University of Oklahoma, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1978. He was the first overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the NFL's Detroit Lions. Sims was the last Oklahoma player taken Number 1 overall in the NFL Draft until quarterback Sam Bradford was taken first in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was given the nickname "Kung Fu Billy Sims" by ESPN's Chris Berman, after a game where the Detroit Lions played the Houston Oilers. In the NFL Films highlight, rather than be tackled during a rushing attempt, Sims ran at, jumped, and, while fully airborne, kicked Oilers Cornerback Steve Brown in the head.
Early years
Sims was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but in the eighth grade he moved to Hooks, Texas, to live with his grandmother. Sims initially played baseball and grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan. He showed no interest in football until moving to Texas. In three years of varsity football at Hooks High School, he rushed 1,128 times (a state record at the time, currently second behind Robert Strait) for 7,738 yards, including 441 carries in 1973 (another state record at the time, currently tied for second behind Ketric Sanford). Sims' 38 games with 100 yards or more rushing (1972-1974) is tied for third place in all-time Texas high school records (with Ken Hall and Steve Worster) behind Robert Strait's 41 games, and Wes Danaher's 43 100-yard games.
College career
Sims attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played for coach Barry Switzer's Oklahoma 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 freshman Adrian Peterson ran for 1,925 yards. Subsequently, Sims was awarded the Heisman 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 to Charles White of USC.
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 in Big 8 Conference (now merged to form the Big 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 the Arkansas Razorbacks 31–6 in 1978, Sims led the Sooners to two consecutive Orange 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 the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In his final game, he ran for 164 yards as Oklahoma beat the previously-undefeated Florida 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.
