Walter Payton

Walter Jerry Payton was born on the twenty-fifth of July 1954 in Columbia, Mississippi, one of three children of Edward Peter "Pete" Payton and Alyne Payton. His father worked in a local factory that manufactured packs and parachutes for the federal government, and his mother kept the family home. Nicknamed "Sweetness," Walter came late to organized football, joining his high school team only as an upperclassman, yet his gift was unmistakable from the start.

He carried that gift to Jackson State University, one of the historically Black institutions of Mississippi, where he became a two-time Little All-American and set a collegiate scoring record. In 1975 the Chicago Bears selected him fourth overall in the NFL Draft, beginning a career that would span thirteen seasons and reshape the standards of his position.

Across those years with the Bears, Payton became one of the most complete players the game had known — a runner, blocker, and receiver of rare durability who started 178 consecutive games. On the seventh of October 1984 he surpassed Jim Brown's career rushing record, and he retired after the 1987 season as the sport's leading career rusher, the second man after Brown to hold that summit. He was named Most Valuable Player, helped carry Chicago to victory in Super Bowl XX, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Walter Payton died on the first of November 1999, at the age of forty-five, of a rare liver disease. In his final months he turned his fame toward the cause of organ donation, serving others even as his own strength waned. May his name endure — Sweetness, who ran with grace and gave without ceasing.