Walter Payton = best ever

Well I've been watching Payton highlight movies all night. I still say he was the best football player ever. random Payton info:
Season Team G Att Yds TD Avg Rec Yds TD Avg
1975 Chicago 13 196 679 7 3.5 33 213 0 6.5
1976 Chicago 14 311 1390 13 4.5 15 149 0 9.9
1977 Chicago 14 339 1852 14 5.5 27 269 2 10.0
1978 Chicago 16 333 1395 11 4.2 50 480 0 9.6
1979 Chicago 16 369 1610 14 4.4 31 313 2 10.1
1980 Chicago 16 317 1460 6 4.6 46 367 1 8.0
1981 Chicago 16 339 1222 6 3.6 41 379 2 9.2
1982 Chicago 9 148 596 1 4.0 32 311 0 9.7
1983 Chicago 16 314 1421 6 4.5 53 607 2 11.5
1984 Chicago 16 381 1684 11 4.4 45 368 0 8.2
1985 Chicago 16 324 1551 9 4.8 49 483 2 9.9
1986 Chicago 16 321 1333 8 4.2 37 382 3 10.3
1987 Chicago 12 146 533 4 3.7 33 217 1 6.6
13 NFL Seasons 190 3838 16726 110 4.4 492 4538 15 9.2
Post Season 9 180 632 2 3.5 22 178 0 8.1
(Passing TDs: 1979-1 1982-1 1983-3 1984-2 1985-1)


"Walter Payton's physical style of play made his durability an incredible accomplishment. He missed just one game his entire thirteen-year NFL career, which can be credited to his fantastic physical conditioning and work ethic. He didn't work out with his teammates in the off-season, but he always came into training camp in better shape than anyone else. He had a very disciplined training regiment that included running steep hills located near his home. No doubt this type of training helped develop the leg strength and quick burst that helped him break away from defenders.

Walter Payton was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1975 out of Jackson State. He ran for 679 yards his rookie year and at least 1200 yards in ten out of the next eleven seasons. In 1977 he had a career high of 1852 yards with his average yards per carry at 5.5. He also scored fourteen touchdowns.

He finished his career as the all-time leading NFL rusher with 16,726 yards on 3,838 attempts. He had 492 receptions for 4,538 yards, giving him him a total of 21,803 combined net yards. He also scored 125 touchdowns, 110 of which were rushing. He was voted MVP in 1977 and again in 1985 when the Bears won the Super Bowl. He was named All-Pro seven times and played in the Pro Bowl nine times. He held the single-game rushing record of 275 yards (Corey Dillon rushed for 278 in 2001) and has rushed for 100 yards in a game 77 times. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season ten times. He was also named to the NFL's Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Team... and the list of accomplishments goes on and on.

You could make an argument for Walter Payton as the greatest player to play the game of football, but he was also a great person. He played for the love of the game and he gave it everything he had every Sunday. His premature death left a gaping hole on the Bear's sideline and in the broadcast booth, but I will never forget the great memories he has given to me and to all football fans. " - http://www.football.about.com/librar...terpayton2.htm



# Born July 25, 1954, in Columbia, Miss. Died in Nov 1 1999 (bears got theres asses kicked by green bay in that weeks game.) :( he was 45. died os liver cancer 1 week after he announced it.
# Height, 5-10. Weight, 202.
# Brother of Eddie Payton, former NFL and CFL player. (wide reciver
# Drafted by Bears in first round (fourth overall) in 1975.
# Former NFL record holder for rushing yards, career (16,726).
# Holds three NFL rushing records, including attempts (3,838); yards, game (275 vs. Minnesota, 1977); games with 100 yards or more, career (77).
# Holds NFL record for most combined attempts, career (4,368) and combined yards, career (21,803).
# Shares NFL record for years with 1,000 yards or more (10, 1976-81, 83-86).
# Shares NFL record for consecutive years leading league in attempts (4, 1976-79).
# Scored 125 touchdowns in NFL career, 110 of them rushing.
# Named NFL Player of the Year (1977 and 1985).
# Named NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1977).
# Named NFC Player of the Year by The Sporting News (1976, 1977).
# Voted to nine Pro Bowls (1976, 1978-81, 1984-87).
# Elected to Hall of Fame (1993).
I still say he would dominate in today's NFL.
He missed 1 game in 13 seasons.
in his first NFL game he rushed for 0 yards on 8 carries.
Didn't play until his jr year in high school. (11th year)
played D2 NCAA.
Payton played college football at Jackson State, where he set nine school records, scored 66 touchdowns and rushed for 3,563 yards. He once scored 46 points in one game.

He led the nation in scoring in 1973 with 160 points, and his 464 career points was an NCAA record. He finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1974, and was drafted fourth overall by the Bears.

He retired after the 1987 season, and the Bears immediately retired No. 34. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.

amazing. <3 #34 I'm getting his home hersey (authentic of course) for christmas :D a good espn article from just after his death right here: http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/1999/1031/144491.html

I'm of the belief that Barry Sanders is the best running back ever, evidenced by the numbers he racked up before retiring. If he still played today, he likely would've passed Payton two or three years ago, and Emmitt Smith would be chasing him until the day he retired.

I like Payton, however, because he was as fearless as a running back could be. I've heard stories to the effect that he never ran out of bounds voluntarily, which deserves a lot of respect.

He was quoted saying that he never left the bears because he felt that if you left the team you were drafted by because they didn't have a good season you had faild in the NFL. "if you couldn't make it with the team you signed with then, you faild as a athlete. Out of his first 7 seasons for the bears they had a winning record 2 times and he rushed for over 1,000 yards in 6 of those seasons. The Bears got him by luck. They called and asked if he wanted to play for the bears and he said he didn't care who he played for as long as he played. He was said to be one of the nicest and down to earth people ever.
Too bad he died so young. 45's way too young for a 9 time pro bowl running back to go :(. I hope his son Jarret plays for the bears. :D Payton had 66 TDs in 43 games in College. he lost only 9 games in his 4 years at Jackson state. betweeb 77-85 he was paid a league high of $475,000. The NFL minimum is $760,000 now :0. He almost broke O.J. Simpsons single seasin rushing but missed the last game of the season which is the only game in 13 seasons he missed.

some pics of him http://www.canoe.ca/WalterPaytonImages/payton4.jpg
Game dedicated to Payton vs Packers days after 'Sweetness" died.
http://www.canoe.ca/WalterPaytonImages/payton8.jpg
Payton after his last game in 1987 at Soldier Field Chicago

some quotes on him "As far as I'm concerned, I thought he was the greatest. With the teams he played on, and what he did, missing only one to two games his whole career. And, on top of that, he was just a great guy." -- Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris.

"He broke all the rules -- that you've got to be big and powerful to be a power running back. He left as strong on his last run as he did when he first came into the league." -- Minnesota running back Leroy Hoard.

"I think Walter's legacy will be that of a man with a God-given ability that got the most out of it at every possible chance. He did it with pride, he did it with dignity, he did it with respect for the game." -- brother Eddie Payton, the golf coach at Jackson State.

there I'm done for now <3 #34 :D

I wish there were more players like him today. Stay with one team their entire career.

Found some more related stuff
Clinton statement on Payton

By The Associated Press
A statement by President and Mrs. Clinton on the death of Walter Payton:

We were saddened to hear of the death of Walter Payton. In the long highlight reel of this life cut short, Walter Payton will always be a man in motion: breaking tackles, breaking records, clearing every obstacle in his path. From the first day he donned the uniform of the Chicago Bears, in 1975, until his retirement 13 years later, Walter Payton missed only one game -- and that was because the coach ordered him to rest his ankle.
He followed a long line of great Bears running backs and became the greatest of them all. The record books confirm that. But individual triumphs would never mean as much to Walter Payton as a victory he could share with his teammates and with the fans who endured, season after season, the icy winds of Soldier Field.
Walter Payton would not stop running until his Bears were as great as the Bears of old, until they had again won the Super Bowl -- which they did, in dramatic fashion, in 1985.
Walter Payton faced his illness with the same grit and determination that he showed every week on the football field. The people of Chicago -- and all Americans who love the game of football -- will miss him profoundly.
We would like to offer our condolences to Walter's wife, Connie, and to their two children, Jarrett and Brittney. Our hearts are with them today.



He was called Sweetness, but to defenders Walter Payton was anything but. He was an unstoppable force running with the ball, he had great hands as a receiver out of the backfield, and he could throw a devastating block that would knock defenders out of their socks.

He also seemed to have a sixth sense for picking up the blitz. Walter Payton was the type of blocker that could lay out a defender coming through a hole in the line just like a linebacker mowing down a running back.

Walter's biggest assets on the field were his leg strength and incredible balance. He could run over a would-be tackler with the force of a freight train. Or he might simply hit a defender hard enough to bounce off, and around him. He also had a straight arm that could take a defender off his feet and send him sliding across the turf on his facemask.

Walter always played the game with the attitude that if he was going to get hit at the end of the play, he was going to dish out a little punishment of his own; something to make the defender remember him the next time they met. Seldom did Walter finish a play by running out of bounds. He was always looking for that extra yard, and that ever-so-slight advantage over his opponent.
http://football.about.com/library/we...lterpayton.htm

I see it almost as a 3-way tie between Jim Brown, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders. Among power RBs, Brown, Among finesse RBs, Sanders, and somewhere in between those two is Payton. I'd put Emmit Smith at 4th behind those two, and then Steve Van Buren at 5th, but that may just be me being a homer. If you look at average gain per attempt, you have Jim Brown in first all time with 5.22 yards per touch and Sanders in third with 5.02. Most seasons with the rushing title, you have Jim Brown with 8, Sanders, Smith, and Van Buren have 4 a piece. Consecutive seasons, Brown has 5, he's also tied with Smith and Van Buren for second place with 3. Smith, Payton, and Sanders are 1, 2, and 3 in career carries. Same in yards gained. Smith had 11 straight 1,000 yard seasons, Sanders had 10. Barry Sanders had a 2,053 yard seasons, but Walter Payton had a 275 yard game. Brown and Sanders both had 4 200+ yard games. It goes on forever, really. Anyone can make an argument for all 3 of them depending on what they think is most important.

I agree that Emmit smith is amazing Walter was quoted staying "if anyone will break my record I want it to be Emmit Smith."

People say Saders was better but if he was better why did he retire so early? And as my roommate siad "in his prime". I think he would have broken the record but not in 1 more season.Maybe 2 or 3. (the lions were hirrible) Also the NFL plays more games a season now then they did back then. Jim Brown was also a great back but old enough so he doesn't get mentioned like Walter does.

I'd have to go with Rice as best player ever. I also think Sanders is the best RB. Montana the best QB. Can't deny the greatness of Payton though.

I think Walter Payton was one of the greatest people the NFL could have ever had in their league. However, I don't think he was exactly the best running back. He only averaged 5 yards a gain once in his career. I think that honor goes to Jim Brown or Barry Sanders. I think Sanders retired because he was tired of losing, but anyway...yeah.

Look at Paytons college career. 66 TDs in 43 games. wtf!? he only lost 9 in college. 46 points in one game! He set 6 school records at Jackson and many NCAA records. No doubt Rice is an amazing athlette but, some of these runs Payton made where he's 15 yards in the back feild and breaks 7 tackles and goes 90 yards for the TD. Anyone that played at thesame time with or against agree that he may not have been the fastest or strongest but put 300% into everything he did. He just loved the game. He even said he didn't care who he played for as long as he played.

I might not be a bears fan(despite living in chicago) but I admit that Payton is probably the best there was and is. Not only did he do a great job but he also gave it his all 100% of the time and you could say that he didn't know the meaning of the word "quit". He was a great role model and athlete for people to try and live up to.

His son looks like he will also have a promising NFL career.

It was such a shame that he died so early when all he needed was a organ transplant(from what I remember on the news at the time).

Yeah he was on the waiting list but the cancer spread too fast :(

I would say it's something along the lines of:

1. Jim Brown
1A. Walter Payton.

Many forget Brown retired at the height of his career as well. Brown is sort of like Babe Ruth in that he was SO utterly dominate before the NFL really became all the rage and thus, all of his accomplishments get pushed aside because they were set before the rush of popularity.

Payton certainly was one of the most graceful people on and off the field, but I'd argue that Brown was just as important because of what he stood for, as a black player during the civil rights movement.

Take care all.

Just was reading this site http://www.chicagobears.com/history/hof-payton.jsp

" "He is a complete football player," Jim Finks, the former Chicago Bears general manager who drafted Payton, said. "He is better than Jim Brown. He is better than O.J. Simpson."

Payton prided himself on his blocking ability. When he talks about career highlights, one of his fondest memories drifts back to 1985 when he intercepted a blitzing Minnesota linebacker to make it possible for Jim McMahon to throw a crucial touchdown pass.

"Walter takes pride in the little things, the blocking, the faking. Once against Cincinnati, he picked up a couple of linebackers and liked to have killed them," Payton's last Bears coach, Mike Ditka, remembers.

His teammate, Brian Baschnagel, insisted that Payton could play any position. Then he hesitated: "I guess at 5-10, 202 pounds, his size might limit him at defensive tackle. The most incredible thing I ever saw was the time he threw me a 50-yard touchdown pass. He was literally going down and he had to whip the ball that far sidearm." "

He had 8 TD passes for the Bears.

Just wondering but do people from other non USA football countrys know of Walter and how he changed football in every aspect?