University of Oklahoma

Billy Sims became the sixth junior and third Oklahoma Sooner to win the Heisman after leading the nation in rushing in 1978.

Heisman Winner

Billy Sims

RB | RS Junior | University of Oklahoma

Sims became the sixth junior and third Oklahoma Sooner to win the Heisman after leading the nation in rushing in 1978.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Sims moved to Hooks, Texas, in the eighth grade to live with his grandmother. Sims initially played baseball and grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan and showed little interest in football. In three years of varsity football at Hooks High, however, he rushed for 7,738 yards. Sims currently holds the Texas state record for most consecutive games with 100 yards or more, 38 from 1972–1974.

Sims signed with Oklahoma and received playing time as a freshman in 1975, rushing for 95 yards, but ankle injuries slowed his progress and ultimately resulted in a medical redshirt for the 1976 season. He had 413 yards and six touchdowns as a 1977 sophomore while still recovering from his ailments. Finally healthy in 1978, Sims swept through defenses like a tornado flying across the Oklahoma landscape.

The 6-0, 205-pounder set a Big Eight single-season rushing record in 1978 with 1,762 yards. Sims led the nation in rushing, averaging more than 7.0 yards per carry, and scored 20 touchdowns. He topped the 200-yard mark in four different games (a school best) and guided the Sooners to a 10-1 regular season record and a No. 4 ranking in the polls. As a result, he was awarded the Heisman over Chuck Fusina of Penn State (though Fusina did collect more first-place votes).

Sims followed up his Heisman with 134 yards as the Sooners won an Orange Bowl championship and finished third in the final poll.

At the beginning of the 1979 football season he was the co-favorite with USC’s Charles White to win the Heisman. Sims rushed for 1,506 yards in 1979, but 529 of them came in the last two regular-season games against Missouri and Nebraska. By this late in the season most of the ballots for the Heisman were cast, and White collected the trophy, with Sims placing second (making him one of only six players to win a Heisman and finish as a runner up).

Sims is second in the OU record books for rushing yards in a season (1,896), most 200-yard games in a season (4) and a career (7). He finished his career with 4,118 yards and stands first on the all-time rushing list.

With the first selection in the 1980 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions selected Sims, who rushed for 1,303 yards to earn Rookie of the Year honors the following fall. His professional football career was cut short in the eighth week of the 1984 season when he sustained a serious knee injury. In his NFL career, Sims gained 5,106 yards.

He was elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1994 and to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

He is currently the owner of a chain of restaurants called “Billy Sims BBQ.”

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Heisman Voting Results

Number of electors: 1050 - Announced: November 28, 1978.

 PlayerClassPositionSchool1st2nd3rdTotal Points
1Billy SimsJRRBOklahoma15115270827
2Chuck FusinaSRQBPenn State1638983750
3Rick LeachSRQBMichigan895852435
4Charles WhiteJRRBUSC367498354
5Charles AlexanderSRRBLSU425154282
6Ted BrownSRRBNorth Carolina State5192982
7Steve FullerSRQBClemson1961382
8Eddie Lee IverySRRBGeorgia Tech11191081
9Jack ThompsonSRQBWashington State13111272
10Jerry RobinsonSRLBUCLA12111270

Three points are awarded for first place on a ballot, with two points for second place and one point for third place.

Heisman Voting By Region

Heisman voters are spread out across six regions, with roughly 145 per region.

South

 Player
1Chuck Fusina
2Charles Alexander
3Billy Sims
4Charles White
5Eddie Lee Ivery

Northeast

 Player
1Chuck Fusina
2Billy Sims
3Charles White
4Rick Leach
5Charles Alexander

Mid-Atlantic

 Player
1Chuck Fusina
2Billy Sims
3Steve Fuller
4Ted Brown
5Rick Leach

Midwest

 Player
1Rick Leach
2Chuck Fusina
3Charles White
4Billy Sims
5Charles Alexander

Southwest

 Player
1Billy Sims
2Rick Leach
3Chuck Fusina
4Charles White
5Charles Alexander

Far West

 Player
1Billy Sims
2Charles White
3Chuck Fusina
4Rick Leach
5Jerry Robinson

Statistics

Billy Sims’ Heisman Year Statistics

DateOpponentResultAttYardsYPCTDRecYardsAvgTDPlaysAll-PurposeYardsYPPTotal TDs
9/9/78at #17 StanfordW 35-29191075.631000.000191075.61
9/16/78#15 MissouriW 52-10811414.251000.000811414.31
9/23/78West VirginiaW 66-78364.501000.0008364.51
9/30/78RiceW 45-231416611.854000.0001416611.94
10/7/78+ #9 TexasW 31-10251315.24213535.000261666.42
10/14/78at KansasW 17-16301926.401000.000301926.41
10/21/78at Iowa StateW 34-62023111.551000.0002023111.61
10/28/78Kansas StateW 56-19252028.082000.000252028.12
11/4/78at ColoradoW 28-7272218.181000.000272218.21
11/11/78at #8 NebraskaL 14-17251536.122000.000251536.12
11/18/78Oklahoma StateW 62-7302096.964000.000302097.04
Heisman StatsAP #410-123117627.622013535.00023217977.720
01/01/79+ #8 NebraskaW 31-24251345.362000.000251345.42
Totals11-1, AP #3, UPI #325618967.412213535.00025719317.522

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