Walter Payton Remembered

Dateline: 11/07/99

Having been a lifelong Chicago Bears' fan, I was deeply saddened by the news of Walter Payton's recent passing. Walter was a hero to me and every other kid I knew. He was the guy everybody on every sandlot football team wanted to be. But he was more than that. He was a respected businessman, a loving husband and father, and a wonderful role model.

He was called "Sweetness", but to defenders he was anything but. Not only was he an unstopable force running with the ball, but he had great hands as a receiver out of the backfield, and he could he throw a devastating block that would knock you out of your socks. If the line couldn't open up the holes for Payton to break through (which happened frequently through most of his career) then the Bears would get him the ball on screen passes or little dump off passes over the middle. One of my favorites was the shovel pass. Walter would be through the line before the opposition even knew he had the ball. And when Walter was not called upon to carry the ball you could bet he would be throwing a block to help spring someone else. He seemed to have a sixth sense for picking up the blitz. He could lay out a defender blitzing through a hole in the line just like a linebacker mowing down a running back.

Payton could also run over a would be tackler like a freight train plowing through a corn field. He had a straight arm that could take a defender off his feet and send him sliding across the turf on his facemask. Walter always played with the attitude that if he was going to get hit at the end of every run then he was going to dish out some punishment of his own. Something to make the defender remember him the next time they met. Many times just as a defender would begin to think Payton was going to take a run out of bounds Walter would lower his shoulder and deliver a crunching shot on the closest man in a different colored jersey.

Walter's physical style of play made his durability an even greater accomplishment. He only missed one game in his entire thirteen year NFL career, to which much of the credit can be given to his fantastic physical conditioning. He didn't work out with his teammates in the offseason, but he always came into training camp in better shape than anyone else. He had a very disciplined training regiment that included running up steep hills located near his home. No doubt this type of training helped develop the leg strength and quick burst ability that helped him break away from would be tacklers.

Walter Payton was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1975 out of Jackson State. He ran for 679 yards his rookie year and then for at least 1200 yards in ten out of the next eleven seasons. In 1977 he had a career high of 1852 yards with his average yards per carry at 5.5. He also scored fourteen touchdowns the same year. He finished his career as the all time leading rusher with16,726 yards on 3,838 attempts. He had 492 receptions for 4,538 yards giving him him a total of 21,803 combined net yards. He also scored 125 touchdowns, 110 of which were rushing touchdowns. He was voted MVP in 1977 and again in 1985 when the Bears won the Superbowl. He was named All-Pro seven times and played in the Pro Bowl nine times. He holds the single game rushing record of 275 yards and has rushed for 100 yards in a game seventy-seven times. He has also rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season ten times. He also was recently named to the NFL's Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Team. And the list of accomplishments goes on and on.

Walter may have been the greatest player to play the game of football and he was also a great person. He played for the love of the game and he gave it everything he had every sunday. I will miss his occasional appearances on the Bears' sideline and in the broadcast booth, but I will never forget the great memories he has given to me and to all football fans.