Walter Payton - Never Die Easy: The Autobiography of Walter Payton

To Jarrett and Brittney

Football will not be my legacy. The two of you will. I love you both more than youll ever know, probably more than I ever showed. I could not be more proud of where you two are headed. Keep straight and keep moving. And remember to tell your mother you love her.

WP

To Denise

My perfect lifemate. Thanks for believing in me, for encouraging me and for sharing my dreams. More than anything else, thanks for loving me. I can only hope Im as good for you as you are for me. ILY.

DY

As I stood there at Walters private memorial service and listened to the speakers step forward to eulogize my friend, I was struck by an amazing thing: Almost none of the conversation was about Walter Payton, the greatest football player I ever saw. Instead, almost everything said was about Walter Payton the man. And that was perfect, because that was the Walter he would want us to remember. He was never really comfortable with his celebrity, especially around the media, but he was always polite. He didnt open up to people very much, but he always made time for as many people as pulled at him. I dont think most fans have any idea how tough that is, but no one handled himself with more grace than Walter.

What Walter did better than anyone Ive met was treat people righteverybody. There arent many athletes out there todayespecially superstarswho know how to do that. He didnt focus just on the CEOs at a dinner, he paid attention to the waiters and waitresses who were working the event. He loved people and he loved to smile. He knew those teeth were magic when he flashed a grin. He loved talking to kids and asking parents for pictures of kids. He understood being a role modelin fact, he cherished the responsibility and the opportunity that it gave him.

Im glad so much has been made about Walters off-field and post-career achievements, because that was as important to him as football. He had a few business partners who really treated him specialfriends like Mike Lanigan from Mi-Jack Productsand those relationships are what helped a guy who played football in the days before out-of-sight contracts leave behind a good life for his family.

Walter always said that records are meant to be brokenif anyone should know that, it was himand years ago, he sent me a plaque reminding me that Tomorrow Is Promised to No One. He wanted me to think about the future and live life to its fullest. That was his style.

When people ask me about playing with Walter, I tell them about his great work ethic. But that is what everyone knows. What Walter also knew was how important he was to us on the Bears and that 50 percent of Walter was better than most anyone else we had. One time, during a game in Dallas, he had a rib injury and his lip was quivering, and I could barely hear what he said. He put his hand out, and he said, Help me get up. He didnt want to lay on the carpetand he didnt go out of the game; he walked back to the huddle. He had torn cartilage to his ribs, but he just powered through it, just gutted himself through it. That kind of heart and guts matched his ability, and that is why I believe he was the best ever. Maybe Jimmy Brown had that, maybe Gale Sayers had that, I dont know. But I know that Walter had it.

We lost more than a football legend on November 1, 1999. We lost a great man. I lost a great friend.

Walter, I love you. Connie, Jarrett, and Brittney: always know that Im here for you.

M ATT S UHEY

May 2000

Never Die Easy would have been a much easier book to write if things hadnt changed so dramatically in the week leading up to Walter Paytons death. Suddenly, the book that Walter was writing had to change or never be finished. As a result, a decision was made to surround the hours of Walters interviews with the stories and thoughts of those who knew him best.

It was my good fortune that friends like Matt Suhey and business associates like John Gamauf and Mike Lanigan, who didnt open up to anyone after Walters death, wanted to add their voices to Walters book.

I hope this explains the format the book has taken. It is not your traditional autobiography. But Walter Payton wasnt your traditional man.

D ON Y AEGER

Mark Alberts: business partner of Walter Payton

Charles Boston: former head football coach at Jefferson High School, and later assistant coach at Columbia High School, currently retired and living in Columbia, Mississippi

Jim Brown: Hall of Fame running back for the Cleveland Browns, currently an actor in Southern California

Pam Curry: sister of Walter Payton

Forest Dantin: Columbia High teammate, currently an attorney in Columbia, Mississippi

Mike Ditka: former head coach of the Chicago Bears

John Gamauf: Bridgestone/Firestone vice president, close friend of the Payton family

Ricky Joe Graves: Columbia High teammate, currently teaching at West Marion High School in Mississippi

Roland Harper: former fullback of the Chicago Bears, currently owns several businesses in Chicago

Franco Harris: Hall of Fame running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, currently in private business in western Pennsylvania

Mike Lanigan: Longtime business partner of Walter Payton and close friend, president of Mi-Jack Products

John Madden: TV commentator, former NFL coach

Bill McGrane: former Bears publicist

Jim McMahon: former quarterback of the Chicago Bears

Jeanie Ortega-Piron: guardianship administrator of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services

Brittney Payton: daughter of Walter Payton, currently a sophomore at Barrington High School

Connie Payton: wife of Walter Payton

Eddie Payton: brother of Walter Payton, currently golf coach at Jackson State University

Jarrett Payton: son of Walter Payton, currently running back at University of Miami

Les Peters: boyhood friend, went on to play football at Jackson State, currently a teacher and football coach at East Marion High School in Mississippi

Rodney Phillips: teammate and roommate of Walter Payton at Jackson State, went on to enjoy a six-year career in the NFL, currently a firefighter in Jackson, Mississippi

Ginny Quirk: executive assistant of Walter Payton

Mike Singletary: former middle linebacker of the Chicago Bears

Matt Suhey: former fullback of the Chicago Bears, currently a Chicago businessman and executor of Walter Paytons estate

Kim Tucker: director of the Walter Payton Foundation in Chicago

The Greatest Bear of Them All

T he young man from Columbia, Mississippi, would have been shocked, maybe even a little embarrassed, by all the attention. He certainly would have been humbled. In the hours after Walter Payton passed away on November 1, 1999, something special happened to the world of sports. For one shining moment, people forgot the problems that plague sports todaydisrespectful athletes, teams holding cities hostage, out-of-control fansand focused instead on what is good about sports, all of which was embodied by that young man from Columbia.