With the fourth pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected Walter Payton, who would become the cornerstone of the franchise for more than a decade. The Bears were coming off their 10th straight season without a playoff appearance.
Payton set an NCAA record with 464 points when he played at Jackson State, where he scored seven touchdowns in one game. He picked up his famous nickname, “Sweetness,” during his time at Jackson State.
Walter Payton’s NFL Career
Payton started in seven of the 13 games in his first season and rushed for 679 yards with seven touchdowns. After missing one game as a rookie, he went on to play every game for the next 11 seasons.
Payton would rush for over 1,000 yards in the next 10 full seasons. He was on pace to reach the milestone in the strike-shortened 1982 season.
Payton averaged 1,541.4 rush yards, 315.6 receiving yards, 33.8 catches, and over 12 touchdowns a season from 1976 to 1980, when he was named to the Pro Bowl and was named first- or second-team All-Pro each season.
Payton set an NFL record in 1977 when he rushed for 275 yards in a game against the Minnesota Vikings. The record stood until 2000, when Corey Dillon of the Cincinnati Bengals rushed for 278 yards in a game.
Payton won NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 1977 when he rushed for 1,852 yards with 14 touchdowns as the Bears made the playoffs for the first time since 1963. Chicago made the playoffs in 1977 and 1979 but lost the first game each time.
Mike Ditka Takes Over the Bears
It was obvious that Payton needed help if the Bears were going to take the next step. Payton made the Pro Bowl five times in his first seven, while the rest of the Bears only had four players combine for six appearances in that span.
The Bears provided help for Payton and started on a path to a championship after hiring Mike Ditka as head coach following the 1981 season. Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan would start building a defense that would end up being considered one of the best of all time.
Payton averaged 1,497.2 rush yards, 460 receiving yards, 46 catches, and over ten touchdowns a season from 1983 to 1986. He was named to the Pro Bowl each season and first- or second-team All-Pro in three of the seasons. The Bears went to the playoffs three times in that span.
The Bears went 15-1 in the 1985 regular season and reached Super Bowl XX against the New England Patriots. Chicago won their only Super Bowl in a 46-10 blowout, but there was one thing missing.
Three Bears, including defensive lineman William “The Refrigerator” Perry, had a rushing touchdown, but Payton was not one of them. Ditka said in 2001, “The greatest regret I ever had was when Walter didn’t score a touchdown in the Super Bowl.”
In 1984, Payton broke Jim Brown’s record of 12,312 career rush yards. Payton finished his career with 16,726 rush yards and held the record until 2002, when Emmitt Smith from the Dallas Cowboys broke the record.
Payton retired after the 1987 season and finished his career with 110 rush touchdowns, 15 receiving catches, and eight touchdown passes in 13 seasons, all with the Bears.
Payton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
Walter Payton Award
After Payton died in 1999 from cancer, the NFL honored him by renaming the Man of the Year Award given to the player for his excellence on and off the field.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott won last season’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. He said, “To the Payton family, I have such appreciation for Walter, for your beautiful family that continues the legacy through your charitable work.”
MORE: Who Are the Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominees?
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