Walter Payton

Walter Payton

In 1954 Walter Payton, a star, was born in Columbia, Mississippi. His parents Edward and Alyne Payton had three children, Eddie, Walter, and Pam Payton. When Walter was a kid he always loved to go outdoors. He always loved to go fishing, play football with his friends, and exploring the woods that he lived by. Walter spent his first three years of playing football at an all-black school named John Jefferson high. After he had finished High School the options for a black athlete in the south were limited, even in the 1960's you couldn't find many schools that a blac person could go to. Walter decided to stay closer to home and follow his older brother Eddie and go to a school in Jackson, Mississippi. At Jackson State, Walter excelled and finished fourth for the heisman trophy voting.

With the fourth pick in the 1975 NFL draft, the Chicago Bears selected Walter Payton. Paytons career began with a less-than-stellar performance. In his first NFL game, Walter carried the ball eight times for zero net yards. Although 1975 began with a performance that wasn't worth writing home about, the season finale did. At New Orleans Walter ripped off perhaps the best touchdown run of career, finishing with 134 yards on 20 carries. Walter finished the rookie season with 679 yards and seven touchdowns, the lowest total of his football career. Also, the biggest letdown of his career occurred that season, as Payton was held out of the only game he would miss in 13 seasons. Not because he couldn't play, but because they wouldnt let him. Walter topped 1,000 yards and scored 13 touchdowns in 1976, and was voted the Most Valuable Player in 1977. Chicago went to the playoffs after the '77 season, which led to a 275-yard game by #34, which stood as the best single game performance in the NFL until it was surpassed by three yards in 2000. It was during the years 1976-1981 that the Bears became defined by Walter Payton. Jokes circulated that their game plan was as simple as Payton left, Payton right, Payton Middle, punt. In the year 1977 Walter Payton got his nickname "sweetness", now that is the name everyone remembers him by. The '84 Bears finished the regular seoson 10-6, and won their first postseason game since 1963 at Washington. During that game, Payton threw a touchdown pass to TE Pat Dunsmore, adding to his long list of achievements. The following week, Chicago lost the NFC championship at San Fransisco, and TV cameras showed Payton sitting on the