Oct
12
Former Heisman Trophy Winner and NBA Guard Charlie Ward Turns 37 Today
Earlier today, ESPN Classic aired the memorable 1993 football game between Boston College and Notre Dame. That game, of course, took place a week after the “Game of the Century” in which Notre Dame knocked off Florida State and its amazing quarterback Charlie Ward in South Bend during a classic #1 versus #2 match up.
The 31-24 victory over Florida State would catapult Notre Dame to the number-one spot in the nation, that is for a short time. The Irish would be shocked the following week by unranked Boston College. Both Notre Dame and Florida State would finish with one loss that season. Florida State would be controversially crowned National Champions after its 18-16 victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. To the dismay of its fan base, Notre Dame would finish number two in the final Associated Press poll after a Cotton Bowl victory against Texas A&M.
After leading the Seminoles to a national title and passing for 3,032 yards en route to the 1993 Heisman Trophy, Ward would pass up on an NFL career and pursue basketball, which he also played at the school.
Ward would be selected by the New York Knicks with the 26th pick in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft and then play 11 seasons in the league. Of real interest, Ward would be asked by the Kansas City Chiefs to backup Hall of Famer Joe Montana prior to his rookie season in the NBA, but the Knicks’ guard would turn down the inquiry. Even more interesting, Ward was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Yankees in 1993 and 1994 despite not playing baseball at FSU.
The early part of Ward’s career would be remembered for him getting in a fight during the 1997 playoffs with former Miami Heat power forward P.J. Brown, who memorably picked up the former Heisman winner and spun him around in the air. That skirmish would ultimately cost the Knicks several players and an opportunity to meet the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals.
Ward would ultimately establish himself as a very steady but not spectacular point guard, helping the surprising eighth-seeded Knicks advance to the 1999 NBA Finals, a 4-1 series loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Ward would finish his career with the Houston Rockets in 2004-2005 after splitting the season before with who else but the Spurs and the Knicks.
While Ward had a more than respectable NBA career, one can not wonder what would have been if he played in the NFL! While scouts felt Ward was a bit small at 6′2”, it sure would have been interesting to see whether Ward would have been able to establish himself as a capable NFL quarterback or rather become just another Heisman quarterback to do nothing in the NFL.
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
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Earlier today, ESPN Classic aired the memorable 1993 football game between Boston College and Notre Dame. That game, of course, took place a week after the “Game of the Century” in which Notre Dame knocked off Florida State and its amazing quarterback Charlie Ward in South Bend during a classic #1 versus #2 match up.
The early part of Ward’s career would be remembered for him getting in a fight during the 1997 playoffs with former Miami Heat power forward P.J. Brown, who memorably picked up the former Heisman winner and spun him around in the air. That skirmish would ultimately cost the Knicks several players and an opportunity to meet the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals.
