He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft out of the University of Pittsburgh; Heyward's 3,086 career rushing yards rank third all-time at Pitt in only three seasons. He declared himself eligible for the 1988 draft after his junior year. In 1987 at Pittsburgh, Heyward rushed for 1,791 yards to earn consensus All-America honors and finish fifth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. Heyward was widely regarded as a nightmare for opposing defenses because he was often as big, and sometimes bigger, than the defenders who had to stop him, and had surprising quickness and agility. One of the NFL's best "big man" running backs in the vein of Earl Campbell, Heyward, at 5' 11" and reportedly weighing 340 pounds, was a punishing runner who was also a devastating blocker and good receiver. Heyward slimmed down to closer to 280. In 1997, Heyward showcased his sense of humor in a series of television commercials for Zest body wash, introducing a generation of American men to the modern version of the Luffa that is now a fixture in many showers and bathtubs. The "lather-builder" and Heyward's tough-guy image created a humorous contrast in the advertisement, culminating in a voting campaign that named it the "thingy". In November 1998 Heyward reported blurred vision in his right eye, and was diagnosed with a malignantbone cancer, reportedly a chordoma, at the base of his skull that was pressing on the optic nerve. After it was partially removed in a 12-hour operation, he underwent 40 rounds of radiation treatments and was later pronounced cancer-free; the diagnosis nonetheless ended his playing career.
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Personal life
Nickname
When Heyward was "12 or 13," according to his son, Cameron Heyward, a defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers writing for the Players' Tribune, he was at the Boys & Girls Club in Passaic, New Jersey, when another boy approached him and ultimately broke a pool cue over Heyward's head. Heyward barely flinched, and after relating the story later, his grandmother called him "Ironhead," and the nickname stuck. Heyward carried the nickname through Passaic High School, where it also became a reference to his wild-man strength and the fact that he had to wear a hat size of 8¾. Heyward's obituary in The New York Times made an additional reference; that in street football games he would lower his head into the stomach of the tackler and one opponent said it hurt so much that Heyward's head must be made of iron.
Heyward died on May 27, 2006, at the age of 39, a year after another cancerous tumor developed that had metastasized to his brain; the recurrence of the tumor proved to be inoperable. Heyward had also experienced a stroke in the years prior to his death.
