Remembering a Legend: The Life of Walter Payton
On November 1st, 1999, legendary Bears running back Walter Payton passed away after a short illness. To many, he was the epitome of greatness. To some he represented the blue collar, hardworking city of Chicago in the 70’s and 80’s. To many, he was one of the greatest players in Chicago Bears as well as NFL history. The anniversary of this death has just passed us. It’s time to remember a legend.
Walter Jerry Payton was born in Columbia, Mississippi on July 25th, 1954. He grew up as a very active youth participating in several activities including participating in his local church and Boy Scouts. He was in his high school marching band, joined track and sang in the choir.
He was also a good student and would you believe he seemed to prefer music over other activities including football? Payton’s life would be filled with musical adventures. His high school sporting career began in his first year in high school as he participated in track as a long jumper.
One thing that Payton didn’t do in high school, right away, was play football. Some of the reasoning why Payton didn’t want to play the sport immediately was because of the fact he didn’t want to play against his brother Eddie. Eddie was a football star and Walter wanted to wait until Eddie graduated from high school to play. A few others also claim he didn’t want to play and then have both he and Eddie get hurt which would upset his mother.
Payton started his football career as a high school junior. He was an immediate star at running back and garnered all-state honors. His high school football career began with an electric start after he ran for a 65 yard touchdown on his first carry. Everything seemed to fall into place from that point forward.
In 1969, when Payton’s high school combined with another high school (Columbia High School) there was some danger in Payton being lost in the shuffle. He kept on going with the program and was the star of the new combined football program. His talent was undeniable and his production was solid. He scored in every game he played in during his junior and senior seasons.
He also starred in other sports as a youth including basketball, baseball and track.