Walter Payton

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Walter Payton

In 1954 Walter Payton, a star, was born in Columbia, Mississippi. His parents Edward and Alyne Payton had three children, Eddie, Walter, and Pam Payton. When Walter was a kid he always loved to go outdoors. He always loved to go fishing, play football with his friends, and exploring the woods that he lived by. Walter spent his first three years of playing football at an all-black school named John Jefferson high. After he had finished High School the options for a black athlete in the south were limited, even in the 1960's you couldn't find many schools that a blac person could go to. Walter decided to stay closer to home and follow his older brother Eddie and go to a school in Jackson, Mississippi. At Jackson State, Walter excelled and finished fourth for the heisman trophy voting.

With the fourth pick in the 1975 NFL draft, the Chicago Bears selected Walter Payton. Paytons career began with a less-than-stellar performance. In his first NFL game, Walter carried the ball eight times for zero net yards. Although 1975 began with a performance that wasn't worth writing home about, the season finale did. At New Orleans Walter ripped off perhaps the best touchdown run of career, finishing with 134 yards on 20 carries. Walter finished the rookie season with 679 yards and seven touchdowns, the lowest total of his football career. Also, the biggest letdown of his career occurred that season, as Payton was he...

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