Walter Payton

Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953 – November 1, 1999) was an American professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears.

Nicknamed "Sweetness", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time.

A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, Payton is remembered as a prolific rusher, once holding records for career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, yards from scrimmage, all-purpose yards, and many other categories.

Payton also retired with the most receptions by a non-receiver, and he had eight career touchdown passes.

However, other sources have stated he was born in 1953.

Payton's year of birth is disputed; most sources at the time of his death stated he was born in 1954.

In 1973, Payton had a school record 24 rushing touchdowns, and was named Black College Player of the Year.

He won this award again in 1974, in addition to being selected for the All-American Team.

He started his professional career with the Chicago Bears in 1975, who selected him with the 1975 draft's fourth overall pick.

Payton graduated in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in communications.

He acquired the nickname "Sweetness" in college.

Payton proceeded to win the 1977 AP NFL Most Valuable Player Award and won Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears.

His father was a factory worker who had played semi-professional baseball; he died in jail 1978 just a couple of hours after being wrongfully accused of driving under the influence due to a stroke that presented similar symptoms to alcohol intoxication.

Payton was an active member of the Boy Scouts, Little League, and his local church.

At John J. Jefferson High School, Payton played drums in the marching band, participated in the track team and sang in the school choir.

Outside of school, he played drums in jazz-rock groups.

His brother Eddie was on the football team, but Payton did not play—partly to avoid competing with him.

After Eddie graduated, the football coach asked Payton to try out for the team, and he agreed on the condition that he be allowed to continue playing in the band.

Once he began to play football, as a junior, he achieved instant success as a running back, running 65 yards for a touchdown on his first high-school carry.

At 5 ft, he was not especially large, but his speed and strength made him one of the team's featured players.

John J. Jefferson High School was integrated with neighboring Columbia High School that year; Payton and his teammates were upset that their head coach, Charles L. Boston, had become an assistant and Payton boycotted some of the spring practices in protest, but returned during the fall season.

He then earned statewide honors as a member of Mississippi's all-state team, leading Columbia to an unexpected 8–2 season.

His performance helped ease the local tensions surrounding desegregation.

Tommy Davis, Columbia's football coach, claimed that he could always count on Payton when the team needed to score.

Payton's statistics proved that was no exaggeration: he scored in every game during his junior and senior years.

He was named to the all-conference team two years in a row.

Payton also led the Little Dixie Conference in scoring his senior year and made the all-state team.

In addition to excelling at football, Payton averaged 18 points a game for Columbia's basketball team, leaped three-quarters of an inch short of 23 feet in the long jump, played baseball, and continued to drum in the school band.

Even though Payton had established himself as one of Mississippi's best running back prospects, he received no invitations from Southeastern Conference colleges.

After originally committing to Kansas State University, he decided to pursue his collegiate career at the historically black school Jackson State University (MS) where his older brother Eddie played football.

While attending Jackson State, Payton played alongside many future professional football players, including his roommate, Rickey Young, as well as Jerome Barkum, Robert Brazile, and Jackie Slater.

As a member of the Jackson State Tigers, Payton rushed for 3,600 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry, and set the school record for career rushing touchdowns with 65.

He retired from football at the end of the 1987 season having rushed for at least 1,200 yards in 10 of his 13 seasons in the NFL (with two of those thirteen being lockout-shortened seasons).

He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame that same year, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

He was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994 and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.

Hall of Fame NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen—but even greater as a human being.

Payton began his football career in Mississippi and went on to have an outstanding college football career at Jackson State University playing for the Tigers, where he was named Little All-American twice.

After struggling with the rare liver disease primary sclerosing cholangitis for several months, Payton died on November 1, 1999, from cholangiocarcinoma at the age of 46.

His legacy includes being the namesake of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, Walter Payton Award, and a heightened awareness of the need for organ donations.

Payton was one of three children born to Peter and Alyne Payton in Columbia, Mississippi.