Walter Jerry Payton
Walter Jerry Payton



Facts in Brief
Birth: Columbia, Mississippi on July 25, 1954
Died: 1999
Education: Columbia High School and Jackson State University
1954 -1999

Walter Payton, aka Sweetness, was born in Columbia, Mississippi on July 25, 1954. He was the youngest of three children. Walter went to Columbia High School. Walter was two years younger than his brother Eddie, who was a football star. He followed Eddie to Jackson State University in 1973 and played football. Walter stepped out of his brother’s shadow and set the NCAA record for the most points scored with 464. That is when he earned the nickname Sweetness, for his smooth straight legged running style.

In 1975, the Chicago Bears picked him fourth overall in the first round of the NFL draft. The Bears had not had a winning record for eight seasons. In his rookie season as a running back, Payton started seven games and rushed for 679 yards. The next year, he rushed for 1,309 and just missed the rushing title because of an injury late in the season. Chicago finished the season with a 7-7 record. It was the first of ten consecutive 1000 plus yard seasons for Payton.

In 1977, Payton and fellow running back Ron Harper led the Bears to their first winning season in ten years. They made the league playoffs for the first time since 1963. Payton led the NFL in yards rushing that season and was named the leagues most valuable player. Payton set a single game record for rushing on November 20, 1977 in a game against the Minnesota Vikings, when he ran for 275 yards. This record stood until the 2000 season when Corey Dillon of the Cincinnati Bengals broke it. He went on to break Jim Brown’s career rushing record of 12,312 yards which had stood for nineteen years.

Finally, in 1985 the Chicago Bears made it to the Super Bowl. They played and defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 46-10. Payton was again named the leagues most valuable player, but did not score a point in the Super Bowl game. Payton regretted that and the Chicago Bears coach, Mike Ditka, apologized for that fact also. During his career Payton played 189 straight games for the Chicago Bears and also ran for 16,726 career rushing yards, which is still a league record.

Payton retired from the NFL in 1987. His number, thirty-four, was retired immediately. Payton was elected to the hall of fame in 1993. When he was elected, Jim Finks, the former general manager of the Chicago Bears, described Payton as a complete football player, better than Jim Brown and O.J. Simpson.

After his retirement from the NFL, Payton joined the Board of Directors for the Bears. He was also involved in auto racing and ran a restaurant and several other businesses in the Chicago area. He lived in Chicago with his wife Connie and their two children, Jarrett and Brittany.

In February of 1999, Payton announced he was suffering from a rare liver condition for which there was no known cure. He was on a waiting list for a liver transplant but his condition worsened and he died on November 1, 1999 at the age of forty five.



Walter Payton Links

  • The Walter Payton Foundation
  • Other Walter Payton Page
  • Walter Payton Page


    Work Cited

    1) "Walter Jerry Payton." The Licoln Library of Sports Champions. fourth ed. Vol. 14. Columbus, Ohio: Frontier, 1985. 72 - 77.

    2) "Walter Jerry Payton." The refernce Library of Balck America. fourth ed. Vol. V. Detroit: Gale , 1996. 1197

    3) "Walter Jerry Payton." 1 Mar. 2001 <http://www.britannica.com/>.
    Created by Bryce G.
    Return to the Black History Projects Page.