Walter Payton was born on July 25, 1954 and passed away on November 1, 1999. But even though Payton is no longer living, one thing is for sure. Football fans from all over the world will always remember him as one of the greatest running backs of all time. Not only did he have all of the right moves on the field, but off the field Payton was also a joy to be around. It was this reputation that captivated fans and other players for many years. Payton attended Columbia High School, and immediately established himself as one of the top running backs in the state. During his senior season he led his team to an 8-2 record while also earning a spot on the Mississippi all state team. After high school Payton decided to take his game to Jackson State University. Although he was one of the best players in the state of Mississippi during high school, all of the big name colleges passed him by because of his race as well as his lack of experience. But with that being said, Payton would go on to prove everybody wrong during his days at Jackson State. While in college Payton racked up 3,500 yards, and also scored 65 touchdowns. In the 1975 NFL Draft the Chicago Bears drafted Payton with the fourth overall pick in the first round. After a slow NFL start, he began to pick up the pace quite a bit during his second season. It was this year that he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. During his time in the NFL Payton was selection to nine Pro Bowls, and also collected many other awards along the way. Walter Payton will always be remembered as one of the greatest running backs to ever play the game of football. This holds true both at the college and NFL level!
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