Supported by the Heisman Trophy Trust

Billy Sims knows the value of hard work.

Though he was born in bustling St. Louis, Sims spent his teen years living with his grandparents in the much slower-paced, rural confines of Hooks, Texas. The future All-American running back kept himself busy by working several odd jobs. He shoveled manure, chopped hay, hauled cotton and worked at a gas station. No job was beneath the hyperkinetic Sims. After football games on Friday night, he'd even come in the next day to help clean the stadium.

Sims natural athleticism combined with that work ethic to help him become an incredible high school running back. Soon he was being courted by colleges all around the country. He eventually decided on Oklahoma, where he went on to win the 1978 Heisman Trophy. He's one of only six Heisman winners who also finished as a Heisman runner up, so you might say he came relatively close to winning two trophies.

Not everyone has the talent to go to college on a full football ride, so Sims created The Billy Sims Foundation, which helps hard-working Oklahoma student-athletes attend university. The foundation, founded in 2011, is one of the many charities supported by the Heisman Trophy Trust.