Who is Charlie Ward, Knicks guard who won Heisman trophy honors? Examining two-sport star's legacy

Charlie Ward was a two-sport athlete who could do it all and was even drafted by the MLB despite never playing collegiate baseball. Some fans may remember him for his NBA career, which spanned from 1994 to 2005 and saw him start in the 1999 NBA Finals with the New York Knicks.

While others recognize him as a standout American football player and Heisman Trophy winner during his college days at Florida State,

Long before he was competing for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, Charlie Ward was a standout high school American football player who dominated the gridiron field.

During his collegiate career with Florida State, Charlie Ward racked up a number of awards. In addition to his Heisman Trophy win, he also won the Davey O'Brien Award.

Arguably, Ward's most impressive accomplishment on the field came during the 1993 season, when he led Florida State to its first national title.

The win cemented his place as one of the greatest collegiate American football players of all time and eventually earned him a spot in the U.S. College Football Hall of Fame.

In 2018, Ward reflected on the game in an interview with The Athletic, recalling the intensity of the final moments.

“It was the loudest that I’ve ever been associated with or been a part of. We couldn’t hear each other. We had practiced silent counts all week, so it wasn’t anything new. The entire game they were quiet, people were quiet because we were winning most of that game, until they got riled up and it was third-and-10.

“They had stopped us the first two downs. On third down, I got pressure and I rolled out and I ended up flicking the ball to Warrick, and that’s when he caught it and went 70-something yards or so for a touchdown.”

2022 Heisman Trophy Presentation

Charlie Ward's NBA career that followed his Heisman Trophy win

While Charlie Ward may currently be coaching high school athletes in Florida, before that, he was an NBA player who competed in the NBA Finals.

Interestingly, he never achieved All-Star honors in the NBA or captured a coveted championship ring; he earned the admiration of Knicks fans.

Although he was a standout American football player in college, his smaller size for the quarterback position saw him projected to go outside of the first round. As a result, Ward took his talents to the hardcourt.

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Golden State Warriors v Portland Trail Blazers

Ward then managed to make a name for himself in the NBA for over a decade, earning the nickname 'The Point Guard of the Future'. Thanks to the coaching schemes of Pat Riley, Charlie Ward saw increased minutes and production.

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Although he and the team came up short in the 1999 Finals, he remained a fan favorite during his time in New York before being traded.

After spending the second half of the 2003–04 season with the San Antonio Spurs, he landed with the Houston Rockets for the 2004–05 season before retiring.

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