Walter Payton

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Lore & Background

Payton began his football career in Mississippi and went on to have an outstanding college football career at Jackson State University playing for the Tigers, where he was named Little All-American twice. He started his professional career with the Chicago Bears in 1975, who selected him with the 1975 draft's fourth overall pick. Payton proceeded to win the 1977 AP NFL Most Valuable Player Award and won Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears. He retired from football at the end of the 1987 season having rushed for at least 1,200 yards in 10 of his 13 seasons in the NFL (with two of those thirteen being lockout-shortened seasons). A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, Payton is remembered as a prolific rusher. He has held NFL records for career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, yards from scrimmage, all-purpose yards, and many other categories. Payton also retired with the most receptions by a non-receiver, and he threw eight career touchdown passes. Payton was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame that same year, and to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994 and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019. After struggling with the rare liver disease primary sclerosing cholangitis for several months, Payton died on November 1, 1999, from cholangiocarcinoma at the age of 46. His legacy includes being the eponym of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and the Walter Payton Award, as well as a heightened awareness of the need for organ donations.

In Their Own Story

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Brooks in the first round (28th overall) of the 1995 NFL draft after trading both of their second-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys. Brooks started 13 of 16 games as a rookie, finishing with 78 tackles and a sack, earning first-team all-rookie honors. In 1997, he earned his first Pro Bowl trip after recording 144 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions. His best season came in 2002 when he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year, helped the Buccaneers win the franchise's first Super Bowl, and returned an NFL-record four touchdowns (one off a fumble and three off interceptions). During Super Bowl XXXVII, he returned an interception off Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon 44 yards for the clinching touchdown. Brooks never missed a game in his 14 years in Tampa Bay, a total of 224 consecutive games, and was the starting weakside linebacker for the last 208 of those games, an NFL record for that position.

Reader's Guide

Payton was one of three children born to Edward Peter "Pete" Payton (1924–1978) and Alyne Payton (1926–2013) in Columbia, Mississippi. Payton's year of birth is disputed; most sources at the time of his death stated he was born in 1954. However, other sources have stated he was born in 1953. His father was a factory worker who had played semi-professional baseball; he died in jail in 1978 just a couple of hours after being wrongfully accused of driving under the influence due to a stroke that presented symptoms similar to alcohol intoxication. Payton was an active member of the Boy Scouts, Little League, and his local church. At John J. Jefferson High School, Payton played drums in the marching band, participated in the track team and sang in the school choir. Outside of school, he played drums in jazz-rock groups. His brother Eddie was on the football team, but Payton did not play—partly to avoid competing with him. After Eddie graduated, the football coach asked Payton to try out for the team, and he agreed on the condition that he be allowed to continue playing in the band. Once he began to play football, as a junior, he achieved instant success as a running back, running 65 yards for a touchdown on his first high-school carry. At 5 ft, he was not especially large, but his speed and strength made him one of the team's featured players. John J. Jefferson High School was integrated with neighboring Columbia High School that year; Payton and his teammates were upset that their head coach, Charles L. Boston, had become an assistant and Payton boycotted some of the spring practices in protest, but returned during the fall season. He then earned statewide honors as a member of Mississippi's all-state team, leading Columbia to an unexpected 8–2 season. His performance helped ease the local tensions surrounding desegregation. Tommy Davis, Columbia's football coach, claimed that he could always count on Payton when the team needed to score. Payton's statistics proved that was no exaggeration: he scored in every game during his junior and senior years. He was named to the all-conference team two years in a row. Payton also led the Little Dixie Conference in scoring his senior year and made the all-state team. In addition to excelling at football, Payton averaged 18 points a game for Columbia's basketball team, leaped three-quarters of an inch short of 23 feet in th

Did You Know?

• Payton acquired the nickname "Sweetness" in college; its origin is ambiguous, variously said to stem from his personality, his athletic grace, or as an ironic description of his aggressive playing style.
• On September 23, 1972, during his sophomore year at Jackson State, Payton set a then-best SWAC single-game scoring record by rushing for seven touchdowns and two 2-point conversions for 46 points in a 72–0 win over Lane
• In a 1977 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Payton rushed for a then-record 275 yards while suffering with a 101-degree fever and intense flu.