"Herschel Walker was a man among boys," Ed Grisamore said. Grisamore, now a columnist for the Macon Telegraph, was privileged enough to cover Walker for the Telegraph in 1979-80, Walker's final year of high school. He watched the bruising running back captivate the small town of Wrightsville, GA and eventually captivate the nation as a Bulldog and a Heisman Trophy winner.

We walked through the Hall of Fame with Grisamore to find out about the man who means so much to the state of Georgia, and more specifically, to the town of Wrightsville and Johnson County High School.

"It was phenomenal to watch," Grisamore said. "He was out there. He had this rare combination of size, strength, and speed."

Grisamore told stories about Walker the player and Walker the person, both remarkable in their own ways. As a person, Herschel made a special connection with Wrightsville and Johnson County High School. He makes guest appearances on occasion, though he lives a relatively private life, and his old high school football field has been named in his honor.

"Not only was he a great athlete, but he's done lots of good things," Grisamore said. "I mean, just a great ambassador for his hometown, for his family, for his school."

As a player, Herschel Walker was an unstoppable force of nature. He plowed over defenders in a Jim Brown-like manner and instilled fear in his opponents.

"I can remember a high school coach telling me he sure would be glad when Herschel Walker graduated because he said, 'I'm awful tired of him hurting all my players.' I had another high school coach tell me, 'fear is having Herschel Walker turn the corner and all you've got between him and the goal line is a 165-pound cornerback.' He dominated every game he played. If he didn't run past you, he'd run through you."

Grisamore wasn't out of stories.

"One man told me about his son (who) played on the team with Herschel, and he said his son came home from practice one day and lifted up his shirt and there was all these marks on his chest. He said, 'What's that?' It was cleat marks that Herschel had run through him, run over him, and left his cleat mark imprint on his chest."

Yeah...I think that would have been a good sign that it's time to quit the team, or at least not show up for practice.

Walker was a Renaissance man of sorts; he could do a little bit of everything. He was an accomplished track star, wrote poetry, danced ballet, dreamed of being an FBI agent, rescued a woman from a burning car, starred in an exercise video for children, earned a black belt in Tai Kwon Do, and even competed in the 1992 Olympics as a bobsledder.

His Olympic jacket and his martial arts gui were in the Hall of Fame as well.

But football is what he'll always be remembered for, beginning with his domination during his junior year at Johnson County High School. After our Hall of Fame visit, we took the one hour drive from Macon to Wrightsville and met up with the Defensive Backs Coach on Walker's high school team, Curtis Dixon.

Dixon is now the principal of the school, and he knows the Walker family very well, having gone to school with Herschel's older brother.

"I really wish we had more like him because he was never a troubled child," Dixon said. "He never had a problem. If you asked him to do something he always did it. He always tried to do his best."

I'm guessing Walker didn't have to try too hard on the football field. He was in a world of his own. Grisamore told some entertaining and astonishing stories, but Dixon might have actually outdone him with this story about the State Championship Game:

"There was a play just before halftime, a toss sweep, basically what Herschel ran. And it was Herschel and the one little defensive back, and Herschel actually scared him, the boy had to go to the bathroom."

Our mouths dropped after we heard that one.

Dixon was the Defensive Backs Coach, so what advice would he give his players if Walker was about to plow them over?

"Not to try to hit him high. Just grab a leg and hold on."

In college, Walker shined as a Bulldog. He won a Heisman Trophy, but there was some controversy. The controversy wasn't about him winning the award, it was about how many times he should have won the award.

"Everyone said he should have won it his freshman year," Grisamore said. "He truly should have won it his sophomore year. That was probably his best year. He did win it as a junior."

I asked Dixon how many Walker should have won.

"At least two. At least."

The story of Herschel Walker is a story about a polite young boy who always said "Yes Sir" and "Yes Ma'am" but terrorized opponents on the gridiron. He is a hometown hero for Wrightsville, Georgia, a place you probably never would hear about if not for Herschel Walker.

And if you mention number 34 (actually he wore 43 in high school), people around Wrightsville and Johnson County High School will know exactly who you are referring to.

"I think he's one of those individuals that you can just say his first name and everyone knows who you're talking about," Grisamore said.

Part of Walker's legacy is playing in the NFL. Part of it is winning the most prestigious sports award in the nation. Part of it is putting a small town on a map. But, as Principal Dixon explains, there's more to Herschel Walker than just cleats, pads, and a helmet.

"Other than just being a great football player, Herschel is a great human being. And if we had more people like Herschel, the world would be a better place today."