Payton, Walter 1954–1999

Walter Payton 1954–1999

Retired professional football player

At a Glance…

Competed in High School

Most Valuable Player

Became a Superstar

Became a Super Bowl Champion

Contracted a Deadly Disease

Sources

One of the strongest and most talented men in football, Walter Payton could bench-press 390 pounds, leg-press more than 700 pounds, throw a football 60 yards, punt it 70 yards, kick 45–yard field goals, and walk the width of the field on his hands. It was this phenomenal combination of power and control that allowed Payton to play in every game except one during his 13 years of National Football League (NFL) competition.

Retiring after the 1987 season, Payton left behind 26 Chicago Bears team records and several NFL records. Ten years later, many of his records still stood, including most yards rushing in a career, most combined yards (rushing and receiving) in a career, most career touchdowns rushing, most 1,000–yard rushing seasons, most 100–yard rushing games in career, and most rushes in career. More than these individual achievements, however, his all-around team play—pass catching, blocking, personality, selflessness, and leadership—inspired his former coach Mike Ditka to call him, as quoted by Koslow, “the very best football player I’ve ever seen, period—at any position.”

Walter Jerry Payton was born on July 25, 1954, in Columbia, Mississippi, “a kid’s paradise” in his own words. Woods extended from one side of his house to the Pearl River. Several factories were on the other side. Both settings provided numerous opportunities for mischief with his older brother and sister, Eddie and Pamela. Early on, Payton used his natural running ability to avoid being caught by security guards while playing hide and seek at the nearby factories.

Hyperactive, prankish, and strong-willed, young Walter was often punished by his Baptist parents, Peter and Alyne. Payton later assessed his parents as firm but fair disciplinarians who instilled strong religious faith in their children. “My parents spent a lot of time with us and made us feel loved and wanted. I didn’t care much about what went on around me, as long as I was in solid at home,” he later recalled to Koslow.

Peter Payton worked at a factory that manufactured packs and parachutes for the U.S. government. By 1962, he had saved enough money to move his family to a new home with separate rooms for each child. It was located just one block from John J. Jefferson High School, the segregated school that all African American children attended from grades one through 12. Both parents instilled in their children an ideal of

At a Glance…

Born Walter Jerry Payton on July 25, 1954, in Columbia, MS; died November 1, 1999, in South Barrington, IL; son of Peter (a factory worker) and Alyne Payton; married Connie Norwood on July 7, 1976 (filed for divorce, 1994); children: Jarrett, Brittany; Education: Jackson State College (later Jackson State University), Jackson, MS, B.A., 1975. Religion: Baptist.

Career: Football halfback, punter, and placekicker, Jackson State College, 1971–74; halfback, Chicago Bears, 1975–87; part-owner, Payton-Coyne Racing Team; Walter Payton’s Roundhouse, owner, 1996–99; Walter Payton Inc., owner and president, 1979–99.

Selected awards: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) scoring leader, 1973; Black All-American Team, 1973–74; NCAA Division II All-America Team, 1974;College All-Star Team, 1974; National Football Conference (NFC) rushing leader, 1976-80;National football League (NFL) Pro Bowl, 1976–80 and 1983–86; NFL rushing leader and Most Valuable Player, 1977; United Press International (UPI) Athlete of the Year, 1977; Black Athlete of the Year, 1984; Professional Football Hall of Fame, inductee, 1993.

Member: Chicago Bears, board of directors; Walter Payton Foundation.

excellence, “never to settle for second best,” as Payton later recalled.

Competed in High School

Taking his parents’ principles to heart, Payton became a better-than-average student, though music took precedence over studies or sports. He was constantly drumming or tapping out a beat on anything in reach. Often he would dance or sing instead of doing his household chores, much to the dismay of his mother and siblings. “When you’ve got an angry brother and sister chasing you with a broom and a wet towel, well, you learn some good moves,” he told a Football Hall of Fame audience at his 1993 induction.

In the ninth grade, Payton joined the track team as a long jumper and played drums in the school band. He consciously avoided the football team where his brother, Eddie, was the star running back. Payton later claimed he did not want his mother having to worry about both of her sons being hurt. After Eddie Payton graduated, Jefferson High School’s football coach asked Payton to try out for the team. Payton, then a sophomore, agreed only after being allowed to stay in the band as well. On his first high-school carry, he ran 65 yards for a touchdown. It was just a taste of things to come.

Jefferson merged with all-white Columbia High School in 1969, and Payton became the undisputed star of the newly integrated football team. 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 this was no exaggeration: he scored in every game during his junior and senior years. He was named to the all-conference team three years in a row. Payton also led the Little Dixie Conference in scoring during 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 some baseball, and continued to play drums in the school band.

Upon graduating, Payton followed his brother to nearby Jackson State College, soon starting alongside him in the team’s backfield. Eddie Payton graduated after Payton’s first year at college, however, and joined the NFL, allowing the younger Payton to become Jackson State’s lone star. Payton was the team’s halfback, punter, and place kicker, and he even passed on occasional option plays. Playing against other predominantly black schools, he ended his sophomore season as the nation’s second leading scorer including the highest single-game total (46 points) in college history. The following year, 1973, he ran for 1,139 yards, led the country in scoring with 160 points, was voted the most valuable player in the conference, and was named to the Black All-America team.

Determined to become even better, Payton embarked on a new training program with his brother during the summer of 1973. The two Paytons sprinted up and down the sandbanks and steep levees alongside the Pearl River during the hottest part of the day. These workouts did more than just build up leg strength and endurance; the constantly shifting sand helped develop balance and the ability to better make a cut or abruptly change direction. Throughout the rest of his career, Payton would conduct similar workouts in comparable settings.

This grueling conditioning led to a successful senior year. Payton capped his college career by becoming the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) all-time leading scorer with 464 points. He was chosen to the Black All-America team again, made the NCAA Division II All-America team, and was named to the College All-Star team. About the only time he finished in second place was during a televised Soul Train dance contest. “He still swears that if he’d had a girl who could dance better, he could have won that contest,” his coach Bob Hill told Esquire years later. Academically, Payton was an all-star as well, graduating in three-and- a-half years with his bachelor’s degree in special education and beginning work on a master’s degree. He studied hard, he later wrote in his autobiography Sweetness, “to help dispel the myth that athletes in general and black athletes in particular don’t have to work to get their diplomas and that they don’t learn anything anyway.”

Payton also picked up the nickname “Sweetness” during his college years; it would stick with him throughout his career. Some claimed it was because of his sweet moves on the football field. Others attributed it to his sincerity, humble disposition, soft high-pitched voice, and concern for others. Raised a devout Baptist, he always led the team in its pre-game prayer.

The Chicago Bears chose Payton in the first round of the 1975 NFL draft, making him the fourth player picked overall. He demanded a signing bonus larger than that received four years earlier by Archie Manning, a quarterback from the University of Mississippi, a school formerly closed to African Americans. The Bears offered him 126,000, the highest amount ever paid to anyone from Mississippi.

The Bears were one of the NFL’s more storied teams, counting many legendary names among their former players—Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, Sid Luckman, Gale Sayers, and Dick Butkus. But these stars and those glory days were long gone—the franchise had not had a winning season since 1967. Payton’s first season, 1975, was no exception. The team lost six of its first seven games. Payton was slowed by an ankle injury, missed the only game in his NFL career, and played sporadically in others. After healing, though, he gave the Chicago fans an inkling of his talent by leading the league in kickoff returns and finishing the season with 679 yards rushing, the most for any Bears runner since 1969.

The following summer, Connie Norwood, his fiancee, graduated from Jackson State. The two were married, and she became a settling influence in his life. That season he became the focal point of the Bears’ offense, carrying the ball 311 times, the most in the league, and gaining 1,390 yards. An injury in the season’s final game cost him a chance at the league rushing title, though he led the National Football Conference (NFC) in yards gained. His performance helped the Bears finish with seven victories and seven losses, their best season in eight years.

Most Valuable Player

At training camp in 1977, reporters noticed a different Payton. No longer open and seemingly carefree, he was silent, moody, and irritable. Once the season started, the reason became clear—he had been preparing himself for one of the greatest individual seasons in NFL history. Payton gained 160 yards in the season opener. The first 200–yard game in his career came in the seventh week. He ran for 275 yards in the tenth game, which broke O. J. Simpson’s single-game rushing record. Many speculated he would break Simpson’s season rushing record of 2,003 yards as well. He came close, but a freezing rain during the final game turned the field to ice, made footing a nightmare, and limited him to 47 yards.

Payton ended the 1977 season with 1,852 yards rushing, leading the NFL in yards gained and carries. The Bears finished 9–5 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. To nobody’s surprise, Payton was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player. At 23–years old, he was the youngest player to win the honor. Further accolades came from United Press International (UPI), which designated him its Athlete of the Year.

Fans from across the nation began to recognize Payton by his unique stutter step, running on his toes with short, stiff-legged strides. Although he could run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, he was never a real breakaway threat, and was often caught from behind by opposing defenders. Compact instead of graceful, he preferred running up the middle or off tackle, surprising would-be tacklers with frequent sudden cutbacks and punishing them with a forearm, shoulder, or helmet. No other halfback combined Payton’s speed, shiftiness, and brute power.

“I’ve never seen anybody who’s more reluctant to get out of the way of a hit,” his former coach Mike Ditka recalled in Esquire. “He really does look to punish the guy tackling him.” No matter how hard he was tackled, Payton always would spring to his feet immediately and return to the huddle. He enjoyed blocking for other running backs or protecting his quarterback against blitzing linebackers seemingly as much as he loved running the ball. “That’s what sets him head and shoulders above other running backs,” Gale Sayers—also a legendary Bears running back—commented in Esquire, “the maximum effort he puts into the other phases of the game.” After scoring a touchdown, Payton would hand the football to one of the Bears offensive linemen who blocked for him, explaining in Koslow’s biography, Walter Payton, that “they’re the ones who do all the work.”

Became a Superstar

Before the 1978 season began, Payton signed contracts for the next three seasons reflecting his superstar status—400,000 for 1978, 425,000 for 1979, and 450,000 plus incentive bonuses for 1980. Clearly, the Bears were expecting big things from him and better days for the team. Under new coach Neill Armstrong, the Bears finished with a 7–9 record despite Payton’s 1,395 yards, most in the NFC, and 50 pass receptions. Together with fullback Roland Harper’s 992 yards, the two runners accounted for 72 percent of the Bears’ offense.

The following year, Payton played with a painful pinched nerve in his shoulder but still amassed 1,610 yards, again leading the NFC. The Bears made the playoffs with a 10–6 record, but they were eliminated in the first round. He gained 1,460 yards in 1980 for an unprecedented fifth consecutive NFC rushing title, but the Bears fell to 7–9. The team continued its mediocre play the next year, finishing 6–10, and Payton, injured most of the season with cracked ribs and a sore shoulder, slipped to 1,222 yards, failing to win the NFC rushing title or make the Pro Bowl. Even so, he became the first player in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards six years in a row.

The Bears realized Payton’s value, and signed him to a three-year contract worth 2 million. They also hired Mike Ditka as the new head coach. The 1982 season was tarnished by a player strike, however, and the Bears finished 3–6. The next season, with Jim McMa-hon installed at quarterback, they finished 8–8. Payton ran for 1,421 yards and caught 53 passes for 607 yards, personally accounting for 36 percent of the Bears’ total yardage. After the season, Payton had arthroscopic surgery on both knees and renegotiated his contract. He received 240,000 a year for life, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.

What Payton really wanted was to play for a Super Bowl champion. The 1984 Bears showed tremendous promise. Their defense was strong and the offensive line was able to open big holes for Payton and the other running backs, while effectively blocking for quarterback McMahon. Although the team finished 10–6, the season was highlighted by Payton breaking Jim Brown’s 19–year NFL career rushing record of 12,312 yards on October 7. He finished the season with 1,684 yards and caught 45 passes to set a new Bears career receiving record.

In the divisional playoff game against the Washington Redskins, Payton ran for 104 yards, threw a 19–yard touchdown pass, and blocked with such ferocity that he knocked a defensive back out of the game. The Bears defeated Washington by a score of 23–19, but they were shut out by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game the following week. Despite his 92 yards rushing and three pass receptions, Payton was despondent, calling it “the hardest thing I ever had to deal with.”

Became a Super Bowl Champion

Payton and the rest of his teammates would have their revenge in 1985. Running up a 15–1 record with a devastating defense and a powerful offense, the Bears blasted through the regular season, strutting their superiority with an arrogant attitude and a music video entitled “The Super Bowl Shuffle.” Payton enjoyed another excellent season, rushing for 1,551 yards.

Chicago won its two playoff games at home to earn the right to play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Like most of the Bears’ regular season games, the result was never in doubt. Chicago crushed New England by a score of 46–10. Payton had his Super Bowl ring, but he seemed unhappy and moody in the locker room. Reporters speculated that he was upset because he had not scored a touchdown. They underestimated his competitive nature. “It wasn’t the touchdown,” he told Esquire months later. “The game was dull.”

The 1986 Bears showed every sign of repeating as champions. They finished 14–2, while Payton displayed his usual form with 1,333 yards rushing and 37 pass receptions. The team stumbled in the playoffs, however, losing to Washington by a score of 27–13. The next season was marred by another player strike. Although the Bears and Payton played well enough to win 11 of their 15 games, they again lost to Washington in the playoffs. Payton was 33–years old, and the Bears had started to split his playing time with talented newcomer Neal Anderson. After 13 years, Payton decided it was time to retire while still on top of his game. He left behind 26 Chicago Bears team records and several NFL records: most rushes (3,838); most yards rushing (16,726); most combined (running and receiving) yards (21,736); most rushing touchdowns (110); most 1,000–yard seasons (10); and most 100–yard games (77) of any running back in history. Former teammate Dan Hampton accurately summed up Pay-ton’s career: “No one on this football team and no one in the NFL is actually in Walter Payton’s league.”

Following his retirement from the NFL, Payton began racing cars and boats while turning his financial attention full time to Walter Payton Inc., his personal company holding investments in real estate, timber, and restaurants. For many years, he worked to become the first African American to own an NFL franchise. He also devoted a great deal of time to various charities in the Chicago area and was on the Chicago Bears’ board of directors. He was particularly involved with the Walter Payton Foundation, a children’s charity founded by the Bears. On July 31, 1993, Payton was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. His son, Jarrett, made the presentation, telling the assembled crowd: “Not only is my dad an exceptional athlete … he’s my biggest role model and best friend. We do a lot of things together … I’m sure my sister will endorse this statement: we have a super dad.”

Contracted a Deadly Disease

In February of 1999, Payton called a press conference and tearfully announced that he was suffering from a rare liver disease known as primary sclerosing cholangitis or PSC. The disease causes ducts that remove bile from the liver to become blocked. Bile backs up and permanently damages the liver. Payton told the press that he needed a liver transplant in order to save his life. Following the press conference Mike Singletary, Pay-ton’s close friend and former teammate, tried to remain positive. “As I look at Walter and the situation, I think this can be one of his finest hours,” he told People Weekly. “I think there can be a great example out of this.”

However, Payton received another devastating blow in May of 1999 when he learned that he had bile duct cancer. Because of the cancer, he was no longer eligible for a liver transplant. Although his fate was sealed, Payton faced the future with characteristic courage and dignity. On November 1, 1999, he died at his home in South Barrington, Illinois. Upon learning of Payton’s death, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue told People Weekly. “The tremendous grace and dignity he displayed in his final months reminded us again why ‘Sweetness’ was the perfect nickname for Walter Pay-ton.” On November 6, 1999, fans, friends, loved ones, and former teammates attended a memorial service for Payton at Chicago’s Soldier Field, the same field on which he had played so brilliantly. Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at the service. As reported by the CNN.com, he told the assembled crowd “This light called Sweetness now belongs to heaven and to the ages.”

Sources

Books

Koslow, Philip, Walter Payton, Chelsea House, 1995.

Payton, Walter, with Jenkins, Jerry B., Sweetness, Contemporary Books, 1978.

Periodicals

Chicago Tribune, September 2, 1979.

Esquire, October 1986, p. 91–97.

Jet, September 5, 1994, p. 48.

New York Times, January 4, 1985, p. 21.

Newsweek, December 5, 1977, p. 63.

People Weekly, November 15, 1999, p. 56–58.

Sport, December 1977 p. 57.

Sporting News, October 1, 1984, p. 2.

Sports Illustrated, August 16, 1982, p. 18.

Other

Additional information for this profile was obtained from CNN.com.

—James J. Podesta and David G. Oblender