With just 34 days remaining until the first Sunday of the NFL season, Chicago Bears Countdown to Kickoff continues today by looking at the life and career of the best player in franchise history to don the number 34, legendary running back and Hall of Fame inductee Walter Payton.
Walter Payton goes from HBCU star to Chicago Bears first-round pick
A native of Columbia, Mississippi, Walter Payton began his scholastic career at John Jefferson High School, a segregated institution. Payton played football at John Jefferson from his freshman to junior season, but before his final year of high school, the future Chicago Bear became one of the first African-American students to attend Columbia High School, an institution that was up until then all-white.
After graduating from high school, Payton elected to attend Jackson State University, where he would continue his football career. Payton's older brother had played football at the HBCU a few years prior, with Walter electing to continue in his brother's footsteps.
As early as his first season, Sweetness broke through to the starting lineup and became a dominant force for Jackson State. Able to run, catch, block, tackle, kick, and pass, Payton gained nearly 680 total yards as a freshman as well as scoring seven touchdowns and 22 points as a kicker. In his sophomore season, Payton had one of the best games of his collegiate and professional career where he scored seven touchdowns in a rout of Lane College.
As an upperclassman, Payton became only a more impressive athlete. Over his final two seasons, the running back was awarded essentially every All-American nomination that he was eligible for and finished both years as the Black College Player of the Year, an award given to the nation's best HBCU player that has since become attached to former NFL great Deacon Jones.
By the end of his collegiate career, Payton had totaled over 3,500 rushing yards and 464 total points, the latter of which was a college football record at the time. He averaged an impressive 6.1 yards per carry and cemented himself as one of his class's top professional prospects.
Accordingly, Payton entered the ensuing 1975 NFL Draft. The Chicago Bears selected Sweetness with the fourth overall pick, making him the first of 17 players that the team picked, including other greats in Mike Hartenstine and Doug Plank. At this point, the Chicago Bears had recorded seven straight .500 or worst seasons, including five last-place division finishes. The Bears as an organization needed a drastic improvement, and this draft class, and especially Payton himself, were able to help reshape the team and culture.
Walter Payton becomes NFC's top running back with Chicago Bears
During his rookie year, Payton quickly climbed up the team's depth chart, and halfway through the year, the Mississippi native was able to start the final seven games of the team's schedule. He finished his first season with nearly 900 total offensive yards and seven touchdowns and was able to lead the Bears in rushing yards.
By the following year, Payton's play as a rookie warranted him starting at the running back position, and the Chicago Bears offense surely got their use out of the standout back. From 1976 to 1979, Payton led the league in rushing attempts all four years, a testament to his toughness. In this early span of Payton's career, the Chicago Bears' record improved dramatically compared to the era before his arrival, and Sweetness was even able to help the team make two postseason appearances.
The best season of his career also came during this span in 1977, just his third NFL season. On the year, Payton totaled 1,852 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns, 5.5 yards per rush, and 2,121 total offensive yards, all of which led the NFL during the year. At the completion of the regular season, the team made the postseason for the first time in 15 years, with Payton himself winning several accolades, including the league's MVP and the Offensive Player of the Year.
Even in the early parts of his career, Payton was a perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro candidate. In his first five seasons as the team's lead back, Payton was nominated to both awards five times, only missing either team for the first time in 1980. From 1981 to 1982, Payton was only able to play in 25 total games due to a late-season injury in the later season, but even in a "down stretch" over his career, the superstar back totaled 2,500 total yards and nine total touchdowns.
Upon returning in good health for the 1983 season, the Chicago Bears as a whole began to scratch the surface of team greatness that deservedly belonged next to Payton's dominance. The running back was voted to his sixth career Pro Bowl at the end of the season with over 2,000 all-purpose yards, and the Bears finished the season with a .500 or better record for the first time in four seasons.
Unfortunately for Payton, by the time the team as a whole was prepared to compete for championships, the running back was already in the latter stages of his career. Sweetness's 1984 campaign saw him again reach over 2,000 all-purpose yards, and the Bears as a unit were able to make it to the NFC Championship. Despite Payton's 100 total offensive yards, the Bears' offense was shut out, ending the team's playoff run.
The following season, Payton was again able to post over 2,000 all-purpose yards for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in his career. Payton finished second in the league's MVP and Offensive Player of the Year award, but for the star player who had been plagued by middling teams throughout his career, Sweetness's focus, and that of the team in general, laid solely on earning the Lombardi Trophy.
Walter Payton helps Chicago Bears win first Super Bowl
After finishing the regular season with a 15-1 record, the Bears cake-walked through the NFC side of the playoff bracket and found themself facing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. In what would become one of the biggest Super Bowl blowouts in NFL history, Payton, unfortunately, had an underwhelming performance and managed only 61 yards on 22 touches.
The Bears as a unit scored four rushing touchdowns en route to scoring 46 total points, two of which came from Jim McMahon, one from running back Matt Shuey, and the final from rookie defensive tackle William Perry, who had been used as an unstoppable goal line force throughout the regular and postseason.
There has been a lot said, both by coaches and players, about Payton's scoreless outing during the Super Bowl, and while some have said that the Chicago Bears' staff essentially had a duty to reward their best player for over a decade, the sentiment that it is tough to complain after winning a league championship is also partially true. In the end, it left a mark on Payton, who was sheepish with the media immediately following the game.
After the championship season, the writing was on the wall that Payton was perhaps in the final years of his career. Therefore, the team decided to add Sweetness's successor in Neal Anderson with their first pick in the 1986 draft. In the first year, Payton remained the full-time starter and logged an impressive season with over 1,700 total yards and 11 interceptions.
The following year, Payton played in only 12 games due to injury, and he split the majority of carriers with Anderson. Despite finishing the year with over 500 rushing yards, it marked the first time since 1974 that anybody besides Payton led the team on the ground.
Walter Payton's legacy and life after the Chicago Bears
Following his 13th season with the Chicago Bears, Payton retired from the NFL after one of the best careers that the league had seen, regardless of position. Across 190 games and 184 starts, Payton finished his career with 16,726 rushing yards, 21,264 all-purpose yards, 125 total touchdowns, nine Pro Bowl appearances, eight All-Pro selections, an MVP, an Offensive Player of the Year award, and a Super Bowl ring.
Payton's name is littered across the top of the Chicago Bears' record book. His rushing total is by far the best in team history, with the next closest, Matt Forte, barely surpassing half of his total. His rushing touchdown total is greater than number two (Neal Anderson, 51) and number three (Rick Caseras, 49) combined, and he leads the team in all-time rush yards per game with 88.
His significance is not just among the team's history books, however. Across the history of the entire NFL, Payton's rushing total is second-best ever behind only Emmitt Smith, and his touchdown total is fifth-best.
Following his retirement, Payton received several awards and accouterments for his time in both college football and the NFL. Sweetness was inducted into both the College Football and Professional Football Hall of Fames, had his numbered 34 jerseys retired by the Chicago Bears, was selected for two NFL All-Decades teams, and was chosen for both the NFL's 75th and 100th-anniversary teams.
Unfortunately, in the years following his retirement from the NFL, Payton developed a rare liver disease named primary sclerosing cholangitis, otherwise referred to as PSC. The illness took its toll on Payton, who at the time was fairly perceived as one of the true athletic juggernauts of his generation, let alone in football, but across any sport. Despite his health rapidly diminishing, Payton spent his final months advocating for the importance of organ donation. His public fight against the disease promoted awareness about donations and liver disease in general.
Payton tragically succumbed to the illness in November 1999 at the age of 45. His life was honored by the football and greater Chicagoland community in several ways. The NFL changed its Man of the Year award to honor Payton, where each team nominates one of its players who takes action in benefiting their communities. A statue representing the Mississippi native was erected in his hometown. Soldier Field even held a ceremony, in which a crowd of 20,000 or more gathered to hear the words of Payton's teammates and friends.
Walter Payton was unfortunately taken far too soon, but his legacy on and off the field will not soon be forgotten. An example of toughness and excellence, Sweetness will always be referred to with respect as one of the best players in the history of the NFL, and it is hard to argue that any player has been more impressive in Chicago's navy and orange.