Walter Payton

Walter Payton could run through a defender. He could stutter-step past one. He could leap over a pile of them. He gained more rushing yards in more ways than anyone. , , He could wear down a defense. Even on a day when Payton was experiencing flu symptoms, he ran the ball 40 times for 275 yards to set an NFL record. Either he never felt fatigue, or he disguised it without a hint. , , Payton could win in the passing game, too. During the 13 years he played, only nine men had more receptions than his 492. Five of them are Hall of Fame wide receivers, and two of them are Hall of Fame tight ends. Payton also was an emergency quarterback who found himself on the originating end of 34 passes. He threw for eight touchdowns. , , He could beat you on special teams. Payton led the NFL with a 31.7-yard kickoff return average as a rookie. And he punted once, for 39 yards. , , Payton was selected by the Bears with the fourth pick in the 1975 draft out of Jackson State. On the day he was drafted, he told reporters: "When I get through with Chicago, they'll be loving me." That prediction came to fruition, and it remains the case decades after "Sweetness" retired in 1987. , , Payton is widely considered the best player in Bears history and among the top running backs of all time. He spent his entire NFL career with the Bears, missing just one game and retiring as the league's all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards. He was voted to nine Pro Bowls-second to Mike Singletary's 10 in Bears history-set 27 Bears records and had his No. 34 retired. , , "When God said he would make a halfback or a fullback, he might have said Gale Sayers or he might have said Jim Brown," Mike Ditka said. "But when he said he would make the best football player who ever lived, he probably said two men-Jim Thorpe and Walter Payton." , , Hall of Fame coach and longtime TV commentator John Madden said he thought Payton was the greatest football player in history. He said every player in the league should be given a video or book that detailed Payton's approach to the game. , , With rare commitment and competitiveness, Payton raised the bar for every group of men he went to battle with. As much as anyone, Payton defined what a Bear is supposed to be. , , "I'm a person who is willing to give his all," Payton said. "That's how I want to be remembered."