03/02/2025
On January 10, 1988, Walter Payton played his final game. His illustrious career came to an end with a heartbreaking loss to the Washington Redskins in the divisional round of the playoffs, with a score of 21-17.
Throughout his remarkable career, Payton rushed for an astounding 16,726 yards, breaking the record for the most rushing yards by any NFL player in history.
He also scored 110 touchdowns, solidifying his legacy as one of the greatest running backs of all time.
Payton's motto was "Never Die Easy", which is also the title of his posthumously published autobiography. Payton attributed this motto to Bob (Robert) 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.
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 retired as the career leader in receptions for a running back, with 492 for over 4,500 yards, and still holds the career record for a running back, with 8 touchdown passes.
Super Bowl champion (XX)
NFL Most Valuable Player (1977)
NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1977)
NFL Man of the Year (1977)
5× First-team All-Pro (1976, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1985)
3× Second-team All-Pro (1978, 1979, 1986)
9× Pro Bowl (1976–1980, 1983–1986)
NFL rushing yards leader (1977)
NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1977)
Bert Bell Award (1985)
NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
Chicago Bears No. 34 retired
100 greatest Bears of All-Time
First-team Little All-American (1974)
Second-team Little All-American (1973)
College Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
NFL record
Most consecutive starts by a running back: 170
