Conversation so far:
when was walter born?
Payton had claimed his date of birth as July 25, 1954, a date which is cited in many of his early biographies.
was this not his real birth date?
However, while researching his biography of Payton, Sports Illustrated's Jeff Pearlman discovered his actual date of birth to be July 25, 1953.

Question: was this significant in any way?
Self-contained rewrite: was the fact that Walter Payton claimed to be one year younger than he was significant in any way?