Young Payton played a number of sports with his brother, Eddie. Payton attended John Jefferson High School now Jefferson Middle School , an all-black school for his first 3 years of high school then in his senior year, he was one of the African American students who integrated formerly all-white Columbia High School. Payton played football all four years of his high school career. He gained only all-purpose yards and scored 7 touchdowns.
In , the city created a special city sticker that featured Payton. The profits from the sales of these stickers along with the special license plate created by the State of Illinois are given to support organ-donor programs across Illinois.
In September , the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center opened the Walter Payton Liver Center after a generous donation from Payton's family, who were pleased with the care he received there.
Until its sale to Two Brothers Brewing in , Walter Payton's Roundhouse continued to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the Aurora, Illinois site. There are two athletic awards named after Payton. The Chicago Bears honored Payton's career and life on November 1, by airing a special tribute video during halftime.
The video consisted of highlight clips from Payton's career and interview segments from Mike Ditka , Virginia McCaskey , Richard Dent , and many other members of the Bears organization. Payton's wife, daughter, son, and mother were present to watch the video, which aired on Soldier Field 's Jumbotron.
Payton did his morning run at the hill everyday. Pictures and memorabilia of Payton cover the walls of the golf course club house. He also held the single game rushing record until the NFL season , when it was broken by Corey Dillon. Payton led the league in rushing yards and touchdowns in the NFL season. Also, he was among the top-ten players for rushing attempts during his entire career, including , , and , leading the category in As of , he was the NFL's second all-time rusher, and he ranked third in rushing touchdowns scored.
Consecutive regular season starts by a running back : , [52] from 7, to 20, Consecutive seasons leading the league in rushing attempts : 4 — Seasons with 1, or more yards rushing : 10 — , — Rushing yards gained, game : , Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings, 20, Consecutive games with or more yards rushing : 9, from 13, to 8, All-purpose attempts, season : Touchdown passes, non-quarterback, career : 8 [53] [54].
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Walter Payton. History Talk 0. This article is about the American football running back. For the musician, see Walter Payton musician. Retrieved Oxford African American Studies Center. New York Times , November 2, Chicago Tribune. Never Die Easy. Random House. ISBN January 18, Retrieved January 18, Retrieved 16 January Sports Illustrated.
Washington Post , June 14, National Football League. New York Times. University of Wisconsin Press. Walter Payton's Roundhouse. Johns Hopkins University Pathology. ESPN , The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 13, Archived from the original on November 13, White Osmanski B. Though and seasons in were no fun on the field, Payton helped make life fun in the locker room by becoming the club's biggest joker and purveyor of practical jokes.
Some notable pranks Sweetness loved to pull were sneaking into the locker room before everyone else to lock the entire team out in the snow, taking over the Halas Hall switchboard to answer the organization's phone calls, and repeatedly calling Matt Suhey's wife in a high-pitched voice, pretending to be a girlfriend.
Perhaps this "Sweetness spirit" was the underlying fuel to the charismatic Bears that would take the field a few years down the road. Most historians trace the turning point in Payton's career, from being the best player on a losing team, to the best contributor to a winning team, to the arrival of Mike Ditka as Chicago's new coach in In Ditka's first speech to the players in the Spring of , he stated that his team would be going to the Super Bowl, and some would be there and some wouldn't.
This was the first statement of confidence the team had heard from a leader in some time, and Ditka intended to back his words up. Along with bringing a winning attitude, Ditka, along with General Manager Jim Finks, for the first time started assembling a supporting cast that would ensure Payton's success. After and seasons in and , Chicago felt they were primed for a real run at the postseason in In addition to dominating the NFC Central by the middle of the '84 campaign, Walter Payton was poised to break Jim Brown's all-time rushing record in the season's sixth game.
Sweetness broke the record early in the third quarter on a toss left, and after a few celebratory high-fives, in his typical fashion he urged everyone off of the field to allow the game to continue. After the game, Payton dedicated his achievement to all the athletes that didn't have the chance to achieve their goals-men such as the late Brian Piccolo.
Injecting his typical playful antics into the day, Payton finished his postgame press conference by speaking to President Reagan and asking him to give his best regards to Nancy.
The '84 Bears finished the regular season , and won their first postseason game since at Washington. During that game, Payton threw a touchdown pass to TE Pat Dunsmore, adding to his long list of achievements.
After the game Payton voiced his sorrow to the press. His team had come so far, and tomorrow is promised to noone, so who knew if he'd get his shot again at the elusive Super Bowl ring. That shot came during the ever-celebrated season. Payton made perhaps the least-heralded but best block of his career when he leveled a blitzing Vikings linebacker at Minnesota. Despite the team losing to Miami after a start, Payton set the NFL record for most consecutive yard games at In that game, it was reported that McMahon changed plays sent in from Ditka to ensure Payton's place in the record book.
The day after the loss, Payton took the starring role in the Super Bowl Shuffle, a recording that went gold and remains the anthem of Chicago sports. If teammates were asked who the victory would be dedicated to, unequivocally they would say Payton in tribute to his outstanding career and dedication to the sport. However, the victory ended up being bittersweet for Sweetness.
Despite Chicago rushing for five touchdowns, Payton wasn't given the ball to score, as New England scripted their entire game plan to stop him. Ditka later called this his greatest regret in all his career-not getting Payton into the endzone in football's biggest game. While expressing disappointment, Payton later let bygones be bygones in the usual Payton tradition.
Sweetness continued to carry the Bears through , during which the team looked to be a lock for another Super Bowl championship. Despite setting defensive records throughout the '86 campaign, quarterback problems spelled doom, and Chicago lost their opening playoff game to Washington.
In , Payton announced that year would be his last. Sweetness split carries through the season with his heir apparent Neal Anderson, and was given a tearful sendoff in his last game at Soldier Field. Chicago again exited the playoffs at the hands of the Washington Redskins. Following the loss, which ended with the quintessential extra effort on a failed run by Payton, Sweetness sat at the end of the Bears bench with his head in his hands, trying to take in every bit of his Hall of Fame football career.
Later, he would pursue ownership of a new NFL franchise in St. Louis, a plan which would ultimately not come to fruition. Payton's son Jarrett started high school in , and stunned the public by deciding to play soccer over football at St.
Payton supported the decision fully, but Jarrett made the switch to football his Junior and Senior years.
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