Miami Dolphins return great Fulton Walker dies aged 58
Thursday 13 October 2016 22:43, UK
Fulton Walker, the first player to return a kick-off for a touchdown in the Super Bowl, has died aged 58, the Miami Dolphins have announced.
Walker suffered a fatal heart attack while cutting hay on his farm in his hometown of Martinsburg, West Virginia.
He played six seasons in the NFL from 1981 but his undoubted highlight came in Super Bowl XVII when he scored on a 98-yard kick-off return to give the Dolphins a seven-point lead in a game they went on to lose 27-17 to the Washington Redskins.
Walker had 190 kick-off return yards in that game and added 93 more two years later in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX - his 283 career kick-off return yards remain a Super Bowl record.
"On behalf of the entire Miami Dolphins alumni, it is with sad hearts that we found out about the loss of our good friend and great team-mate Fulton Walker," said Nat Moore, Dolphins senior vice president of alumni relations.
"Fulton was one of the guys who did whatever the team needed. He always stepped up and rose to the occasion, like he did in Super Bowl XVII.
"He was a guy who never complained or griped about anything. He just played his role each and every time he was called upon."
