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Walter Payton was born in Columbia, Mississippi. Payton's year of birth is disputed; most sources at the time of his death stated he was born in 1954. However, other sources have stated he was born in 1953. As a child Payton was an active member of the Boy Scouts, Little League, and his local church. At John J. Jefferson High School, Payton played drums in the marching band, participated in the track team and sang in the school choir. Outside of school, he played drums in jazz-rock groups.
At 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), he was not especially large, but his speed and strength made him one of the team's featured players. John J. Jefferson High School was integrated with neighboring Columbia High School that year;Payton and his teammates were upset that their head coach, Charles L. Boston, had become an assistant and Payton boycotted some of the spring practices in protest, but returned during the fall season.
He then earned statewide honors as a member of Mississippi's all-state team, leading Columbia to an unexpected 8-2 season. Payton's statistics proved that was no exaggeration: he scored in every game during his junior and senior years. He was named to the all-conference team two years in a row. In addition to excelling at football, Payton averaged 18 points a game for Columbia's basketball team, leaped three-quarters of an inch short of 23 feet in the long jump, played baseball, and continued to drum in the school band.
Even though Payton had established himself as one of Mississippi's best running back prospects, he received no invitations from Southeastern Conference colleges. After originally committing to Kansas State University, he decided to pursue his collegiate career at the historically black school Jackson State University (MS) where his older brother Eddie played football.
He acquired the nickname "Sweetness" in college. The nickname's origin is ambiguous: it is variously said to have stemmed from his personality, from his athletic grace, or as an ironic description of his aggressive playing style.
The Chicago Bears drafted Walter Payton in the first round of the 1975 NFL Draft, as the fourth overall pick. The Bears had endured several losing seasons after the retirement of the iconic Gale Sayers in 1972. Payton's first game was not particularly successful; he was held to zero net rushing yards on eight attempts. His best performance of the season was the final game against the New Orleans Saints, where he rushed for 134 yards on 20 carries.
Payton continued his success by rushing for more than 1,400 yards in both seasons. On September 19, 1984, Payton passed Franco Harris as the active leader in career rushing yards. Three weeks later, on October 7, 1984, against the New Orleans Saints, Payton broke Jim Brown's career rushing record of 12,312 yards.
Payton performed with his teammates in the widely released 1985 music video The Super Bowl Shuffle. he Bears went on to a 15-1 record that culminated in a 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
At the end of the 1986 season, he announced that he would retire from professional football after completing the 1987 NFL season. Over his entire career, Payton rushed for 16,726 yards, which broke the record for most rushing yards by any NFL player in history, and scored 110 touchdowns.
His jersey number was retired by the Bears, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
In February 1999, Payton announced that he had a rare liver disease. He spent his final months as an advocate for organ transplants, appearing in many commercials to encourage others to donate organs, although by the time his first appeal was recorded, his illness was already too far advanced for transplantation to have been a viable option. In April of that year, Payton made a final public appearance at a Chicago Cubs game with Mike Ditka, where he threw the game's ceremonial first pitch.
On November 1, 1999, Payton died from the complications that arose from his illness. His body was cremated after his death. old cemeteries soldier field highlights