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Walter Payton
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There were stronger players. There were faster players. There were quicker players.
There were none who were any tougher.
Walter Payton played football for the Chicago Bears with a desire and energy that would
have impressed legendary coaches Knute Rockne and Vince Lombardi. Unlike most running
backs, Payton felt that it was his duty to deliver a load when he carried the ball instead
of taking a hit and crumpling to the ground. If the Bears needed a yard for the first
down, Payton wasn't satisfied unless he got five. He felt it was his duty to carry the
team on his shoulders. And, if he had to run over a tackler to do it, he was more than
happy to take on the obstacle.
"See, the thing about defensive players is that they want to hit you as hard as
they can. They're obsessed with that," Payton said. "My coach at Jackson State,
Bob Hill, always said that if you are going to die, you should die hard, never die
easily."
Payton's achievements are well-chronicled. He rushed 3,838 times for 16,726 yards and
110 touchdowns — all records. He also caught 492 passes for 4,538 yards and 15
touchdowns. His 125 career touchdowns are the second-most in NFL history, and his 21,803
combined yards are the most ever.
Yet numbers don't tell the story with Payton. Former teammate Dan Hampton said that,
whether it was practice or a game, Payton went out with an unquenchable desire to succeed.
"The only thing I can compare it to is watching an eighth-grader try to make the
freshman football team," Hampton explained. "He's really hungry, and he's
putting every ounce of strength he has into every play. No matter what, he just won't let
up. That's what it was like playing and practicing with Walter Payton."
That type of fire and attitude made Payton the consummate team player. His individual
statistics may tend to obscure the fact that he was an exceptional all-around football
player. Payton prided himself on his blocking ability. One of his fondest memories was a
block he delivered in 1985 to a blitzing Minnesota linebacker that enabled Jim McMahon to
throw a crucial TD pass.
One of the more remarkable aspects of Payton's career was his ability to stay
injury-free. He had his share of bumps and bruises, and he had arthroscopic surgery on
both knees after the 1983 season, but that was a relatively minor operation. Payton
jokingly referred to that procedure as "my 11,000-yard checkup." Payton's
unusual gait and running style may have been the key reason for his ability to stay
healthy. His knees rarely bent when he ran. Payton's leg swing came from his hips, rather
than his knees, giving him more power and extra leverage. It also took the burden of
running off his knees, the most vulnerable joints on a football player's body.
Undoubtedly, the highlight of Payton's career was the championship season of 1985. The
team had served notice on the league in 1984 by winning the NFC Central championship and
then winning at Washington in the playoffs before bowing out against San Francisco. But
1985 was another story. The Bears jumped from being a solid team to the league's dominant
monsters, culminating with a smashing 46-10 win over the New England Patriots in Super
Bowl XX. Payton enjoyed another banner season, with 1,551 rushing yards and 483 yards on
49 receptions.
As the Bears whipped through the season, they developed a reputation throughout
football as an unstoppable machine. While players like McMahon, Richard Dent, Mike
Singletary and Gary Fencik played with great confidence, much of their strength came from
Payton.
"We're in the middle of this tremendous season, and we feel great about it,"
said Hampton. "But at the same time, we're thinking, 'Is this really happening?'
Then, you'd look over at Walter and see that he was absolutely expecting us to win. Even
though he had never been on a championship team, he had this unbelievable confidence that
we were going to win every game. He had this look in his eye that told the whole world we
were the best football team and that nothing was going to stop us. We believed him."
Ironically, in Payton's crowning Super Bowl moment, he never got the opportunity to put
the ball in the endzone. When the Bears had the ball on the New England one late in the
game, head coach Mike Ditka called on rookie William "the Refrigerator" Perry to
carry the ball — leaving Payton as the game's leading rusher (61 yards on 22 carries)
but without six points.
"I knew I was going to be a decoy today, and I was prepared for it," said a
solemn-faced Payton after the game.
But that was a role that Payton was not asked to play very often. During his college
career, he ran for 3,563 yards, scored 66 touchdowns and was given the famous nickname
that he held on to through his pro career — "Sweetness."
Jim Finks, the current Saints and former Chicago general manager who drafted Payton,
analyzed Payton's career simply:
"He is the complete football player. He is better than Jim Brown. He is better
than O.J. Simpson."
Perhaps even the best.
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