Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton ( July 25 , 1954 – November 1 , 1999 ) was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League ( NFL ) for thirteen seasons . Walter Payton was known around the NFL as " Sweetness " . He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football . Payton , a nine - time Pro Bowl selectee , once held the league ' s record for most career rushing yards , touchdown s , carries , yards from scrimmage , all - purpose yards , and many other categories . His eight career touchdown passes are an NFL record for non - quarterback s . He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 . Hall of Fame NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen — but even greater as a human being . Payton began his football career in Mississippi , and went on to have an outstanding collegiate football career at Jackson State University where he was an All - American . He started his professional career with the Bears in 1975 , who selected him as the 1975 Draft ' s fourth overall pick . Payton proceeded to win two NFL Most Valuable Player Awards and won Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears . After struggling with the rare liver disease primary sclerosing cholangitis for several months , Payton died on November 1 , 1999 , aged 45 , from cholangiocarcinoma . His legacy includes the Walter Payton Award , the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award , and a heightened awareness of the need for organ donation s . Early life . Payton was one of three children born to Edward and Alyne Payton in Columbia , Mississippi . His father was a factory worker who had played semi - professional baseball . 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 . During his first few years at high school , his older brother Eddie was on the football team , and Payton did not play partly to avoid competing with him . After Eddie graduated , the football coach asked Payton to try out for the team , and he agreed on condition that he be allowed to continue playing in the band . Once he began to play football , as a junior , he achieved instant success as a running back . At , he was not especially large , but his speed and strength made him one of the team ' s featured players . 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 state - wide honors as a member of Mississippi ' s all - state team , leading Columbia to an unexpected 8 - 2 season . His performance helped ease the local tensions surrounding desegregation . College career . Though Payton had established himself as one of the state ’ s best running back prospects , he received no invitations from Southeastern Conference colleges or universities , which were accepting only a few black players at the time . After originally committing to Kansas State University , he decided to pursue his collegiate career at the historically black , Jackson State University , where his older brother Eddie played football ( he also declined a scholarship offer from the University of Kansas , where fellow Chicago Bears running back legend Gale Sayers had played ) . While attending Jackson State , Payton played alongside many future professional football players , including Jerome Barkum , Robert Brazile , and Jackie Slater . As a member of the Jackson State Tigers , Payton rushed for more than 3 , 500 yards , averaging 6 . 1 yards per carry . Also , he broke the NCAA ' s scoring record by rushing for 65 touchdowns during his college career . In 1973 , Payton was selected for the All - American Team . The following year he was named Black College Player of the Year . Payton graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor ' s degree in Communications . 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 a sarcastic description of his aggressive playing style . In 1996 , Payton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . On January 18 , 2010 , it was announced that Payton would be one of eleven members of the inaugural class inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame on February 20 , 2010 . Breakout performance . On October 1 , 1972 during Walter Payton ’ s sophomore year , he set a then - best SWAC scoring record by scoring 7 touchdowns and running to points after for 46 points as Jackson State crushed Lane College , 72 - 0 . Payton scored on TD runs of 6 , 8 , 2 , 3 , 1 , 2 , and 31 yards in the blowout win . Professional career . 1975 – 1982 . The Chicago Bears drafted 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 finished the season with only 679 yards and seven touchdowns . However , Payton led the league in yards per kickoff returns . Payton was eager to improve his performance . During the 1976 NFL season , Payton rushed for more than 1 , 000 yards and scored 17 touchdowns . After the season , he was selected to play in the 1977 Pro Bowl , where he was declared the Pro Bowl MVP . The next year , he rushed for 1 , 852 yards and scored 16 touchdowns , becoming the league ’ s leading scorer for the season . He earned numerous awards that season , including the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America ' s Most Valuable Player awards . A memorable game of the 1977 NFL season was against the Minnesota Vikings on November 20 . He rushed for a then - record 275 yards , breaking the previous record of 273 yards held by O . J . Simpson . In that record - setting game against the Vikings , Payton was suffering with a 101 - degree fever and intense flu . His longest run was for 58 yards , and he caught one pass for 6 yards . His record stood for 23 years until Corey Dillon of the Cincinnati Bengals ran for 278 yards in 2000 . By the end of the decade , Payton had received additional accolades for his exploits as a blocker , receiver , emergency punter , and quarterback . 1983 – 1986 . The Bears struggled to assemble consecutive winning seasons , landing only two playoff berths since his arrival . The lack of success prompted the Bears ' management to replace Neill Armstrong with Mike Ditka for the season that began in the Fall of 1982 . Ditka , a tight end during the 1960s and 1970s who would also join the Pro Football Hall of Fame , led the Bears to a 3 – 6 ( strike - shortened ) record in 1982 . He led the Bears to an 8 – 8 finish in 1983 and to a 10 – 6 finish in 1984 . Payton continued his success by rushing for more than 1 , 400 yards in both seasons . On October 7 , 1984 , Payton broke Jim Brown ' s career rushing record of 12 , 312 yards . In 1985 , Payton rushed for more than 1 , 500 yards , helping the Bears establish the league ' s second - best offense . The Bears ' 46 defense of that season would go on to become one of the best in NFL history , setting a record for fewest points allowed . Payton performed with his teammates in the widely released 1985 music video " The Super Bowl Shuffle " . The Bears went on to a 15 – 1 record that culminated in a 46 - 10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX . Although Payton ' s offensive prowess had assisted the Bears throughout the 1985 season , the New England Patriots prevented him from reaching the end zone . According to quarterback Jim McMahon , he was targeted by two or three defenders on every play . In a later interview , Ditka stated that Payton ' s lack of a touchdown in this game was one of his major regrets . 1986−1987 . Payton , who was a 12 - year veteran , amassed 1 , 333 yards in the 1986 NFL season . The Bears won the NFC Central Division , but lost to the Washington Redskins 27 – 13 in the divisional round . At the end of the 1986 season , he announced that he would retire after completing the 1987 NFL season . During his last season with the Bears , Payton split carries with his successor , Neal Anderson , and rushed for only 533 yards . Payton ' s career ended with another loss to the Washington Redskins in the divisional round of the playoffs by the score of 21 – 17 on January 10 , 1988 . 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 . He caught 492 passes for 4 , 538 yards and 15 touchdowns . Payton set several team records , including most career rushing yards , receptions , touchdowns , and touchdown passes by a running back . His jersey number was retired by the Bears , and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 . The only game he missed in his 13 - year career was in his rookie season of 1975 . Playing style . Payton ' s motto was " Never Die Easy " , which is also the title of his posthumously published autobiography . Payton attributed this motto to Bob Hill , his coach at Jackson State . In practice , this meant that Payton refused to deliberately run out - of - bounds and always delivered some punishment to his tacklers before being forced off the field or forced down . One of Payton ' s signature maneuvers was the " stutter - step " , a high - stepping , irregularly paced run . He developed this as a way to distract his pursuers during long runs , saying that it startled them into thinking and gave him some advantage over players who were actually faster runners . In his autobiography , he likened the stutter step to a kind of " option play " : when he was stutter - stepping , defenders would have to commit to a pursuit angle based upon whether they thought he would accelerate after the stutter - step , or cut — he would read this angle and do the opposite of what the defender had committed to . He re - invented the practice of stiff - arming his tacklers , which had gone out of favor among running backs in the 1970s . At times , he used his high school experience as a long jumper to leap over his opponents , landing on his head in the end zone to gain a touchdown in a game against the Buffalo Bills . His running gait was somewhat unusual , as his knees were minimally bent , and the motion was largely powered from the hip . This may have given his knees , a football player ' s most vulnerable joints , some protection , although he underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees in 1983 . He referred to this procedure as an 11 , 000 - yard checkup . After scoring touchdowns , Payton declined to celebrate ; instead , he would often hand the ball to his teammates or the official . He disapproved of the growing practice of touchdown celebrations ; he preferred post - game antics such as rushing into the locker room and locking his teammates out in the cold while taking a long shower . Although Payton would have won the respect of his peers and coaches by his running alone , he made 492 receptions and over 4 , 000 yards over his career and was a consistent threat in the passing game . Personal life . Payton married Connie Norwood in 1976 . During his rookie years he resided in a home on the north side of Arlington Heights , Illinois . The couple had two children , Jarrett Payton ( born 1980 ) and Brittney ( born December 26 , 1985 ) and resided in South Barrington , Illinois . Investments . In 1995 , Payton , along with many other investors , sought to bring an NFL expansion team to St . Louis , Missouri , and Payton expressed his interest in becoming the first minority owner in NFL history . Although the NFL strongly favored a franchise in St . Louis , their efforts were thwarted because of internal dissension among the investment group members leading the NFL to award franchises to investment groups in Jacksonville , Florida ( Jacksonville Jaguars ) and Charlotte , North Carolina ( Carolina Panthers ) . Payton pursued various business ventures in retirement , including becoming co - owner of Dale Coyne Racing in the CART IndyCar World Series . He also drove in several Trans - Am Series events , including a 1993 race at Road America in which his car overturned and caught fire . He suffered burns but escaped serious injury . In 1995 , he and several partners purchased a Chicago , Burlington and Quincy Railroad roundhouse in Aurora , Illinois . The property became known as " Walter Payton ' s Roundhouse " , hosting a restaurant , brewery , banquet and meeting facility , and museum . In 1999 the property received an award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation . The beers brewed at the Roundhouse received awards in the 2000s . Payton appeared on a 1987 episode of " Saturday Night Live " ( co - hosting with fellow football player Joe Montana ) . Illness and death . In February 1999 , Payton announced that he had a rare autoimmune liver disease known as primary sclerosing cholangitis , which may have led to his cholangiocarcinoma ( bile duct cancer ) . 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 . Author Don Yaeger worked with him during the last weeks of his life to create his autobiography , " Never Die Easy " . On November 1 , 1999 , Payton died from the complications that arose from his illness . He was 45 years old . During the same week , the NFL held special ceremonies in each game to commemorate his career and legacy . In addition , the Chicago Bears wore special # 34 patches on their jerseys to honor Payton . His body was cremated after his death . Speakers at Payton ' s public funeral service , held in Soldier Field , included Jesse Jackson ; former National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ; former teammate Dan Hampton ; his widow Connie Payton ; and his children , Jarrett and Brittney . Among the 1 , 000 mourners at the private service were John Madden ; Illinois Governor George Ryan ; Chicago ' s mayor Richard M . Daley ; former teammates Matt Suhey , Mike Singletary , Roland Harper , and Jim McMahon ; the Bears ' equipment manager and building superintendent ; and many other people representing a wide social , political , and economic spectrum . Legacy . Payton ' s legacy continues through the charitable Walter and Connie Payton Foundation . His own appeals — and after his death , his foundation ' s — for greater awareness of the need for organ donations are widely credited with bringing national attention to the problem . After his appeals , donations in Illinois skyrocketed , and the regional organ bank of Illinois was overwhelmed with calls . In response , the City of Chicago inserted organ donation requests into city - vehicle - registration mailings in early 2000 , and , by August 2000 , 13 , 000 people had signed on to the program . The foundation continues to run a program that Payton organized to donate toys to underprivileged children across the Chicago area each Christmas . The family established the Walter Payton Cancer Fund in 2002 . Many modern NFL running backs have cited Payton as a source of inspiration . Emmitt Smith tearfully paid homage to Payton after breaking Payton ’ s rushing record . LaDainian Tomlinson , who set numerous records during the 2006 NFL season , named Payton as one of his foremost mentors and inspirations . Ahman Green , a former player for the Bears ' rival Green Bay Packers , is said to have idolized Payton , viewing the highlight film " Pure Payton " before each game . Walter ' s son , Jarrett Payton , was a running back for the Tennessee Titans , NFL Europe ' s Amsterdam Admirals , CFL ' s Montreal Alouettes and IFL ' s Chicago Slaughter . During his tenure at the University of Miami , Jarrett wore a # 34 jersey to honor his father ' s memory . In 2009 , Jarrett married on March 4 , which was intentionally set to coincide with Payton ' s jersey number . The city of Chicago has honored Payton ’ s memory in several ways . In 1999 , the city created a special city sticker that featured Payton . The profits from the sales of these stickers along with the special license plate created by the State of Illinois are given to support organ - donor programs across Illinois . Also , the city named a high school , Walter Payton College Prep , in his honor . In September 2007 , the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center opened the Walter Payton Liver Center after a generous donation from Payton ' s family , who were pleased with the care he received there . Chicago Metra commuters have long been witness to a simple " # 34 Sweetness " , painted on a bridge piling of the Air Line on the south end of the Chicago Union Station yards . The CBS sitcom " Mike and Molly " honored Payton in 2011 with " The Walter Payton Elementary School " . Until its sale to Two Brothers Brewing in 2011 , Walter Payton ' s Roundhouse continued to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the Aurora , Illinois site . There are two athletic awards named after Payton . The NCAA gives the " Walter Payton Award " to the best offensive player from a Division I FCS ( still often known by its former designation of Division I - AA ) football team . The NFL hands out the " Walter Payton Man of the Year " award for player achievements in community service during a particular season . The Chicago Bears honored Payton ' s career and life on November 1 , 2009 by airing a special tribute video during halftime . The video consisted of highlight clips from Payton ' s career and interview segments from Mike Ditka , Virginia McCaskey , Richard Dent , and many other members of the Bears organization . Payton ' s wife , daughter , son , and mother were present to watch the video , which aired on Soldier Field ' s Jumbotron . After Payton ' s death , Nickol Knoll Hill , an old landfill site turned into a golf course in Arlington Heights , Illinois , was renamed " Payton ' s Hill " . There are two plaques on the hill to remind visitors of the hill that it was where Payton used to train in 1970s / 80s . Payton did his morning run at the hill everyday . Pictures and memorabilia of Payton cover the walls of the golf course club house . Career statistics . Payton was the NFL ' s all - time leader in rushing yards and all - purpose yards prior to the 2002 NFL season , when Emmitt Smith broke his record . He also held the single game rushing record until the 2000 NFL season , when it was broken by Corey Dillon . Payton led the league in rushing yards and touchdowns in the 1977 NFL season . Also , he was among the top - ten players for rushing attempts during his entire career , including 1976 , 1977 , and 1978 , leading the category in 1979 . As of 2006 , he was the NFL ' s second all - time rusher , and he ranked third in rushing touchdowns scored . Along with Frank Gifford , Payton threw six interceptions , more than any other non - quarterback position in NFL history . He also passed for eight touchdowns . NFL records . Service . Consecutive regular season starts by a running back : 170 , from to Rushing attempts . Consecutive seasons leading the league in rushing attempts : 4 ( – ) Rushing yards gained . Rushing yards gained , career : 16 , 726 Seasons with 1 , 000 or more yards rushing : 10 ( – , – ) Rushing yards gained , game : 275 , Chicago Bears vs . Minnesota Vikings , Games with 100 or more yards rushing , career : 77 Consecutive games with 100 or more yards rushing : 9 , from to Rushing touchdowns . Rushing touchdowns , career : 110 Yards from scrimmage gained . Yards from scrimmage gained , career : 21 , 264 Games with 100 or more yards from scrimmage gained , career : 108 All - purpose attempts . All - purpose attempts , career : 4 , 368 All - purpose attempts , season : 400 ( ) All - purpose yards gained . All - purpose yards gained , career : 21 , 803 Games with 150 or more all - purpose yards gained , career : 46 Touchdown passes . Touchdown passes , non - quarterback , career : 8