Walter Payton

Did You Know?

• Payton threw eight career touchdown passes and six interceptions, the latter tying Frank Gifford for the most by a non-quarterback in NFL history.
• He graduated from Jackson State University in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in communications.
• His son Jarrett Payton wore a number 34 jersey at the University of Miami to honor his father's memory.

Early life

Walter Payton grew up in Columbia, Mississippi, as one of three children. His father, Pete, worked in a factory and had played semi-professional baseball. Pete died in jail in 1978, just hours after being wrongly arrested for drunk driving; he had actually suffered a stroke that looked like intoxication. As a kid, Payton was involved in the Boy Scouts, Little League, and his church.

At John J. Jefferson High School, he played drums in the marching band, ran track, and sang in the choir, and outside school he drummed in jazz-rock groups. His older brother Eddie was on the football team, so Payton stayed off the field partly to avoid competing with him. Once Eddie graduated, the coach asked Payton to try out, and he agreed only if he could stay in the band. On his very first high school carry as a junior, he ran 65 yards for a touchdown.

Standing just five feet tall, he wasn’t big, but his speed and strength made him a star. That year, his school merged with Columbia High School, and Payton was upset that his head coach became an assistant; he boycotted some spring practices but returned for the fall. He helped lead Columbia to an unexpected 8-2 season and made Mississippi’s all-state team. He scored in every game during his junior and senior years, made all-conference twice, and led the Little Dixie Conference in scoring as a senior.

Beyond football, he averaged 18 points per game in basketball, jumped nearly 23 feet in the long jump, played baseball, and kept drumming in the school band.

Professional career

The Chicago Bears drafted Payton in the first round of the 1975 NFL draft as the fourth overall pick. He was assigned number 21 but switched to number 34 before the season started. In his first game, he was held to zero net rushing yards on eight attempts; his best performance that season was the final game against the New Orleans Saints, where he rushed for 134 yards on 20 carries. He finished the season with 679 yards and seven touchdowns but led the league in yards per kickoff return.

In 1976, he rushed for 1,390 yards and 13 touchdowns, and after the season he was selected to the Pro Bowl, where he was named MVP. The next year, he rushed for 1,852 yards and 16 touchdowns, becoming the league's leading non-kicking scorer and earning the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America's Most Valuable Player awards. On November 20, 1977, against the Minnesota Vikings, he rushed for a then-record 275 yards while suffering with a 101-degree fever and intense flu; his longest run was 58 yards, and he caught one pass for 6 yards.

That record stood for 23 years. By the end of the decade, Payton had received additional accolades for his work as a blocker, receiver, emergency punter, and quarterback.

Personal life

Walter Payton publicly gave his birth date as July 25, 1954, a detail repeated in early biographies, but journalist Jeff Pearlman later uncovered that he was actually born on July 25, 1953, having first used the later date while campaigning for the Heisman Trophy at Jackson State. He married Connie Norwood in 1976, and during his first season in the NFL, he lived in a house on the north side of Arlington Heights, Illinois. The couple had two children, Jarrett in 1980 and Brittney in 1985, and made their home in South Barrington, Illinois.

After 18 years of marriage, Payton unexpectedly filed for divorce and joint custody, but the divorce was never finalized, and he and his wife lived apart for most of the remainder of his life. In 1988, Payton accidentally shot the manager of a nightclub he owned in Schaumburg, Illinois. He had recently bought a 9 mm French-made Manurhin Pistolet for his collection and did not realize it was loaded; the gun discharged while a third party was handing it to him, with the barrel pointed at the manager, Elmer Ray Hutson Jr., who suffered a knee injury.

Following his playing career, Payton struggled with depression. His agent, Bud Holmes, said Payton spoke about suicide, and his executive assistant, Ginny Quirk, recalled him saying, "You won't see me when you get to the office tomorrow. Enjoy life without me." A Christian, he attended the non-denominational Destiny Church in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, after retiring.

In February 1999, he revealed he had primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare liver disease. He spent his final months promoting organ donation and made a last public appearance at a Chicago Cubs game with Mike Ditka, throwing the ceremonial first pitch. Author Don Yaeger collaborated with Payton in his final weeks on the autobiography Never Die Easy.

Legacy

In 1987, Illinois’ governor presented Payton with the Order of Lincoln, making him a laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois for his sports achievements. The next year, the American Academy of Achievement gave him its Golden Plate Award. Through the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, his impact continued. His personal pleas for organ donation awareness, and later his foundation’s efforts, are widely seen as sparking a national conversation.

After his appeals, Illinois saw a surge in donations, and the state’s regional organ bank was flooded with calls. Chicago began including organ donation forms in vehicle registration mailings in early 2000, and by August of that year, 13,000 people had signed up. The foundation still runs a Christmas toy drive Payton started for underprivileged Chicago-area children. In 2002, his family launched the Walter Payton Cancer Fund.

In 2010, Pro Football Focus founder Neil Hornsby called Payton the greatest NFL player ever. Many modern running backs point to him as an inspiration. Emmitt Smith became emotional when honoring Payton after breaking his rushing record, and LaDainian Tomlinson considered him a key mentor. Ahman Green, a former Packers rival, reportedly watched the highlight film “Pure Payton” before every game because he idolized him.