Emmitt Smith

Smith grew up as a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, and always dreamed of playing with them. His family didn't have much income, and sometimes relied on government programs providing cheese and milk. When his mother couldn't afford to buy him new clothes for middle school, he worked as a handyman, then at K-mart and at a television station in order to earn the money to buy the clothes himself. As a young man, he learned to cook so that he could help take care of his bedridden grandmother.

He attended the University of Florida, but in 1990, after his junior year, he left school and decided to play professional football. He is not tall—at five-foot nine he is shorter than most other players. When he was being assessed by scouts for the football draft, 16 teams passed him up, considering him too small and too slow. However, he is strong and has a low center of gravity. He uses this to his advantage to gain leverage on other players who are often bigger and heavier than he is. The Dallas Cowboys decided to take him on, and he was drafted in 1990.

Smith was happy not only because he was playing for the team that he had idolized as a child, but also because he would have the chance to improve his family's economic situation. He told a Sports Illustrated for Kids reporter, "I looked at my Mama, and I looked at where we were living. I said to her that we have a chance to move on up."

Smith was an instant success with the Cowboys. He gained 937 yards rushing in his rookie season (1990) and led the NFL the next season with 1,563 yards. Smith teamed up with quarterback Troy Aikman and wide receiver Michael Irvin to give Dallas the league's most potent offense.

It all came together for the Cowboys in 1992. Smith won the league's Most Valuable Player award after leading the league once again with 1,713 yards and 18 touchdowns. Dallas finished the season with a 13-3 record and went on to win Super Bowl XXVII 52-17 over the Buffalo Bills. Smith gained 101 yards in the game.

The Cowboys repeated as Super Bowl champions the next season, once again defeating the Bills, this time 30-13. Behind the scenes, Smith's journey to that Super Bowl was excruciatingly painful, as he suffered a separated right shoulder during the season-finale game against the Giants. Despite the injury, he continued to play. Teammate Darren Woodson told Paul Attner in the Sporting News, "No question, he has the biggest heart here. He expects to win games and he doesn't expect anyone else to do it for him. Because he cares."