Product Description
Walter Payton was arguably the greatest running back in the history of professional football. A star for the Chicago Bears from 1974 to 1987, Payton rushed for a National Football League career record of 16,726 yards. Known to football fans everywhere as "Sweetness," he helped lead the Bears to a Super Bowl victory following the 1985 season and over the years established himself as one of the sports world's most popular and personable role models. Payton was beloved by his teammates, idolized by his fans, and embraced by business partners. He captured the heart of the Windy City with a graciousness complimented by a spirit of humility and a wonderful sense of humor.

Millions mourned in early November 1999 when Payton, a youthful 45, succumbed to cancer after a nearly year-long battle with various health problems. Even in his dying days, however, Payton maintained his dignity, a spirit of community charity, and a legendary ability to pull off practical jokes that would send friends and family reeling with laughter. Before he passed away, he reportedly also renewed his commitment to his Christian faith. His death on November 1 coincided with the day known as All Saints Day in many Christian quarters.

In Walter Payton, dozens of his contemporaries, former teammates, coaches, childhood and college chums, business partners, fans, and friends offer in their own words their favorite memories and anecdotes of this man they loved so much. Walter Payton is a warm, entertaining, and inspiring book about a man whose fame transcended the sport in which he competed into the widest realms of life itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Kicks A$$
This was a really great book. Books about football hall of famers do not get better. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the greatest all-around running backs in NFL history, Walter Payton set several league records, including career rushing yards (16,726), most games rushing for 100 or more yards (77), and rushing touchdowns (110), during his 13-year career. Nicknamed "Sweetness" by his Chicago Bears teammates because of his friendly disposition, Payton was a nine-time Pro Bowler and three-time NFL MVP, and helped lead the Bears to their only Super Bowl win, dominating the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. Tragically, Payton was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in February 1999 and died that November. His philanthropic work continues through organizations such as the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, which helps abused, neglected, or underprivileged children in Illinois. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

WALTER PAYTON
WHEN WALTER PAYTON WAS A CHILD, HE DIDN'T LIKE THE GAME OF FOOTBALL. HE LIKED BASEBALL. WALTER PAYTON LIVED IN SOUTHERN MISSIPPI, AND WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL AT J. JEFFERSON HIGH. HE WENT TO COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE STATEUNIVERSITY. AFTER COLLEGE HE PLAYED FOR THE CHICAGO BEARS. WALTER PAYTONMADE THAT TEAM, HE GOT THEM TO THEIR FIRST SUPERBOWL. THE BOOK WAS SODESCRIPTIVE. IT TOLD EVERYTHING. THE BOOK WAS GREAT. I LOVED IT, I JUSTWISH EVERYONE COULD BE LIKE WALTER PAYTON. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Jackson State Tigers Football Players, Walter Payton, Darion Conner, Perry Harrington, Jimmy Smith, Robert Brazile, Harold Jackson, Jackie Slater, Jaymar Johnson, Jackie Walker, Lem Barney, Coy Bacon, Corey Bradford, Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Lavarus Giles, Eddie Payton, Verlon Biggs, Cletis Gordon, Paul Mcjulien, Willie Richardson, D. J. Johnson, Vernon Perry, Speedy Duncan, Sylvester Morris, Frank Molden, Sylvester Stamps, Don Reese, Chris Jones, Fernando Smith, Tim Barnett, Rashard Anderson, Marcus Benard, Jeff Moore, Rich Caster, Chris Burkett, Gloster Richardson, John Outlaw, Leon Gray, Rickey Young, Jerome Barkum, Leon Seals, Tom Funchess, Quincy Coleman, Ricky Patton, Terry Irvin, Roy Hilton, Roscoe Word, Lewis Tillman, Robert Hardy, Lester Holmes, Houston Hoover, David Windham, Larry Hardy, Emanuel Zanders, Steve Martin, Marlo Perry, Kevin Dent, Ben Mcgee. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 148. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Walter Payton (July 25, 1954 November 1, 1999) was an American football player who spent his entire professional career with the National Football League's Chicago Bears. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football. Payton, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, once held the Leagues record for most career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, and many other categories. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Hall of Fame NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seenbut even greater as a human being. Payton began his football career in Mississippi, and went on to have an outstanding collegiate football career at Jackson State University where he was an All-America...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=5069759 ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Walter Payton, Darion Conner, Perry Harrington, Jimmy Smith, Robert Brazile, Harold Jackson, Jackie Slater, Jaymar Johnson, Jackie Walker, Lem Barney, Coy Bacon, Corey Bradford, Lavarus Giles, Eddie Payton, Verlon Biggs, Cletis Gordon, Paul Mcjulien, Willie Richardson, D. J. Johnson, Vernon Perry, Speedy Duncan, Sylvester Morris, Frank Molden, Sylvester Stamps, Don Reese, Chris Jones, Fernando Smith, Tim Barnett, Rashard Anderson, Marcus Benard, Jeff Moore, Rich Caster, Chris Burkett, Gloster Richardson, John Outlaw, Leon Gray, Rickey Young, Jerome Barkum, Leon Seals, Tom Funchess, Quincy Coleman, Ricky Patton, Terry Irvin, Roy Hilton, Roscoe Word, Lewis Tillman, Robert Hardy, Lester Holmes, Houston Hoover, David Windham, Larry Hardy, Emanuel Zanders, Steve Martin, Marlo Perry, Kevin Dent, Ben Mcgee. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 157. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Walter Payton (July 25, 1954 November 1, 1999) was an American football player who spent his entire professional career with the National Football League's Chicago Bears. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football. Payton, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, once held the Leagues record for most career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, and many other categories. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Hall of Fame NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seenbut even greater as a human being. Payton began his football career in Mississippi, and went on to have an outstanding collegiate football career at Jackson State University where he was an All-American. He started his professional career with the Bears in 1975, who selected him...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=5069759 ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Transplant News, published by Transplant Communications, Inc. on February 14, 1999. The length of the article is 748 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Chicago Bears Hall of Fame football great Walter Payton goes on waiting list for a liver transplant.
Publication: Transplant News (Newsletter)
Date: February 14, 1999
Publisher: Transplant Communications, Inc.
Volume: 9Issue: 3Page: NA

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
18 Walter Payton cards plus 6 Rulon Jones cards and 8 E.J. Junior cards; from the 30 card Gold Tab promotional set given out to McDonald's customers with each purchase during a four-week period in the fall of 1986. Cards were of players from the nearest NFL franchise. The All-Star set which featured the cards that are listed here was presented at locations not having a team nearby. Each card's "play & win" scratch-off tab could be redeemed for a McDonald's food prize. Each week the color of the tab was changed (blue to black to gold to green). These cards still have their tabs attached and the scratch-off material intact. ... Read more

Product Description
OCTOBER 1986 ISSUE OF INSIDE SPORTS MAGAZINE. THIS IS THE NFL AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL SPECIAL ISSUE. COVER FEATURES MARCUS ALLEN, DAN MARINO, HOWIE LONG, WALTER PAYTON, AND MORE. ... Read more

Product Description
"Never die easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries into all facets of your life. It's okay to lose, to die, but don't die without trying, without giving it your best."

His legacy is towering. Walter Payton—the man they called Sweetness, for the way he ran—remains the most prolific running back in the history of the National Football League, the star of the Chicago Bears' only Super Bowl Championship, eleven times voted the most popular sports figure in Chicago's history. Off the field, he was a devoted father whose charitable foundation benefited tens of thousands of children each year, and who—faced with terminal liver disease—refused to use his celebrity to gain a preferential position for organ donation. Walter Payton was not just a football hero; he was America's hero.
        Never Die Easy is Walter Payton's autobiography, told from the heart. Growing up poor in Mississippi, he took up football to get girls' attention, and went on to become a Black College All-American at tiny Jackson State (during which time he was also a finalist in a Soul Train dance contest). Drafted by the Bears in 1975, he predicted that he would last only five years but went on to play thirteen extraordinary seasons, a career earning him regular acknowledgment as one of the greatest players in the history of professional football. And when his playing days were over, he approached business and charity endeavors with the same determination and success he had brought to the football field, always putting first his devotion to friends and family. His ultimate battle with illness truly proved him the champion he always had been and prompted a staggering outpouring of love and support from hundreds of thousands of friends and admirers.
        Written with veteran journalist and author Don Yaeger in the last weeks of Walter Payton's life, Never Die Easy presents Walter's singular voice—warm, plainspoken, funny, self-aware—along with the voices of the friends, family, teammates, and business associates who knew him best at all stages of his life, including his wife, Connie, and their children, Brittney and Jarrett; his teammate and friend Matt Suhey; former Bears head coach Mike Ditka; and many, many others.
        Walter made Don Yaeger promise that his book would be "inspirational and leave people with some kind of lesson . . . and make sure you spell all the words right." Never Die Easy keeps all those promises.Amazon.com Review
Walter Payton's premature passing forced a rethinking of his autobiography that completely sidesteps the self-importance that dominates sports memoirs in general. Never Die Easy isn't a traditional autobiography at all. It's an oral history disguised as autobiography that relates the saga of the most exquisite running back in NFL history through an interweaving of Payton's words and the words of those who knew him, with necessary transitions and narrative bridged by his collaborator. The result is an appealing hybrid that mirrors Payton's quiet modesty. "He had not just been a great football player," writes Yaeger, "he had been a role model in an age when role models were in short supply."

The Payton that emerges is a man of great skill, decency, passion, and charity: a man beloved. Naturally, there's lots of football in Never Die Easy--the title comes from a saying of Payton's college coach--with eyewitness testimony provided by the likes of Mike Ditka, Mike Singletary, Jim McMahon, Franco Harris, Matt Suhey, and even Jim Brown, whose career rushing record Payton leaped over. But there is also lots of family: the voices of his wife, children, brother, and sister are heard.

But mostly, there is Walter Payton. It's his own unmistakably high-pitched voice that resonates throughout; he sets down the melody and the others harmonize. Payton was certainly astute about the game and his abilities, forthcoming both in triumph and failure--his unsuccessful attempt at winning the NFL franchise in St. Louis was a terrible post-career blow--and utterly decent. How many other superstar athletes could say, convincingly, "Too many of us only take. We don't give." Payton gave to the end--a man who died for want of an organ was willing and eager to donate his own. It was the ultimate testimony of his refined, unforgettable Sweetness. Never Die Easy offers a fair, honest, appreciative taste. --Jeff Silverman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

Moving Look
This moving book looks at NFL star Walter Payton, but is certainly not a typical sports biography.Instead it is a moving look back (and to some extent forward) at a great athlete and human being from his last days due to a devastating liver disease.The book covers Payton's upbringing in Mississippi, and his college career.Then it looks at his days as "Sweetness," one of the NFL's greatest (if not the greatest) running backs with the Chicago Bears from 1975-1987.Payton was neither big nor particularly fast, yet he set many NFL records with his quickenss, acceleration, balance, and desire. The story is told in many voices; we hear from Payton, plus his family members, teammates, coaches friends, etc.Readers get a perspective on football skills, his humanity, determination, etc.We also learn about the horrid disease that brought him down a few months after his 45th birthday.Payton spent his last days speaking out in support of organ donations, and those calls are included in these pages.The book is a fast read, but hardly an unaffecting one.

Good Read and Interesting Story
Very good read.Especially interesting were the chapters about his childhood, and dealing with life after football.

Never Die Easy
I am not a sports fan but Walter Payton's behavior on and off the field had caught my attention.How many people would earn the nickname "sweetness" especially in sports.I remember his illness and the day his death was announced and I called my daughter at work to let her know.She was a huge fan.My cousin recomended this book; I had never heard of it.He had said he was not a reader but this book was so inspiring he said I should read it.It was no longer in print so I tried Amazon.

Everything about this man and his family just screamed character and loyalty.Not only was he a fantastic athlete, he was also an honorable man who did not let his abilities and fame turn his head.The books detail on his training was inspiring in that it spoke of his self motivation in detail and how he did not take time off between seasons.Training was too important to him.He also never got tired of his fans and always made time for them.The book is an easy read, it is well laid out and detailed about a man who had very little and made the most of it and never tried to take the spotlight from anyone else.

Powerfull book from a powerfull player.
This has to be one of the most powerfull books I have ever read. The story of how Walter Payton lived is a great reminder that we all have more in us.
This biography explained how Walter played and why he beleived that he should. This book will be read again.

The Story of a True Gridiron Hero.
NEVER DIE EASY is the story of Walter Payton the NFL Superstar, and more importantly, what he was as a man.

The book starts out with Walter's last days fighting cancer. The circumstances leading to his announcement of his illness were brought to light.

Walter, his brother Eddy, and sister Pam shared what it was like attending school before and during integration. Walter's football talent and personality made the process easier in Columbia,MS. On Walter's high school and college career there is a lot of contributions from teammates that played with him.

Walter explained how he approached playing the game of football- "You can't work towards two different goals - individual and team. You have to play for the team goal."

The book has shared insights from Bear backfield mates- Roland Harper, Matt Suhey, and Jim McMahon.

Walter's view of his retirement, and the failed bid for ownership of an NFL franchise were some things that probably aren't common knowledge among fans. The two issues were directly related. That was a big disappointment to Walter Payton - not being part owner of an NFL expansion franchise. He came very close in St. Louis. If he had different partners, he might have fulfilled another of his dreams.

Transcripts of the eulogies were included in the book. His son Jarrett, brother Eddy, Mike Singletary, John Madden, and Mike Ditka all spoke.

This book focused more on the man than the player. There are a lot perspectives from his family members and close friends. "Never Die Easy" described Walter's running style. As great as he was on the field, he was even greater as a private citizen, contributing to charitable causes, often anonymously.
In the days where contract size and celebrity reign in the NFL, Walter Payton was more like the Bears of old who played for the love of the game.
If you want to read about a modern football hero with an "old school" work ethic, this is the book.

... Read more

Product Description
THE BEST FOOTBALL PLAYER EVER, PERIOD.
--Mike Ditka

Walter Payton played running back with a devastating combination of grace and ferocity. Though standing an inch and a half short of six feet and just a shade over two hundred pounds, he led the beleaguered Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl title, broke Jim Brown’s career rushing record and won the unconditional love of millions of NFL fans.

How did a small-town daydreamer in Mississippi end up taking the cellar-dwelling Bears from awful to awesome? Walter Payton simply worked harder and with more purpose than any football player in history. And he did it with a smile.

PAYTON captures the life of an on-field superstar who wanted most to be the consummate team player. He was a man who left everything on the field, always put family first and committed himself to giving back to the community. Sweetness indeed.

Includes a DVD with NFL Films' "Pure Payton," a collection of extraordinary highlights of Walter Payton's football career. This DVD--only available here--offers striking, never-before-seen footage of Payton both on and off the field, and completes any serious Bears fan's collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Book & DVD deliver a 1-2 knockout punch
Several other reviews put my feelings into words quite eloquently so I won't go into much detail on the content other than to say the book deals more with Walter Payton the man and the DVD shows in stunning detail why he is considered by many insiders as the greatest football player ever to play in the NFL.

When you think of Payton's career, can you ever remember a contract dispute or him holding out for more money? (One year he volunteered to have some of his pay deferred so the Bears could sign a player the team needed badly to fill a position.) Was there ever a mouthy display of frustration in front of a microphone even though most of the years he played with the Bears were middling and certainly not up to his personal standards? When it was time to play, he never faxed it in.

Both the book and the DVD are First Rate. You can't go wrong here.

Fathers... do you have a young son who could use a solid role model for athletics, teamwork, preparation, dedication, and life itself? I recommend you let him cut his teeth on the story and pictures of one Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears.

Itall started with game called "Tag your it"
My son very good at sports BMX,Soccer,Football He started playing Football 5 yrs ago pop warner He follows NCCA,NFL I told him about Walter Payton & how his stile of running was simular to yours. I bought the BOOK/DVD if he would watch it at the begging of the football this year. He didnt take his eyes off the T.V .He ended the year leading scorer & played in the div. champ. game & All- Stars. My opinion on Walter Payton Great Book, Great DVD, The Best Running Back.

Payton
Payton
EXCELLENT, a must have for all Walter fans.The book is very well written and I just loved it.He was an awesome man and a devoted father and husband.Well done Connie and family!

Walter Payton!
Great book and DVD.Highly recommended for Bears fans across the nation but most importantly, to any sports fanatic period!Walter Payton was and is the greatest sports player who ever lived!You will be inspired to do your best and never give up at whatever you do in life!A greatunselfish man who did so much for others; inspiration for the world!
Walter Payton: A True and Genuine Role Model (34)

Payton rocks!
This book/dvd is a must own for any Walter Payton fan. The 1 hour dvd brings back alot of memories watching Walter bust through defenses. The book is well written and gives some insight into his background as well as his character. I paid $15 less at Amazon than what this package was going for on E-Bay. The best part is that my son got to watch the dvd and see what hard work is all about and where it can get you. He could'nt believe the way Payton could "fly" in to the end zone. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
The day Walter Payton died, Chicago Bears owner Virginia McCaskey tearfully said, "After Brian Piccolo died, my husband Ed and I promised ourselves we wouldn't be so personally involved with any of the players. We were able to follow that resolve until Walter Payton came into our lives." Payton was magical to watch, playing with a toughness that never failed to impress opponents, teammates, and fans alike. Alternately graceful and bruising, Payton ran, leapt, and battered his way to eight NFL records in his 13-year career--including the most rushing yards in a single game (275), most career rushing yards (16,726), and most career total yards (21,803), in addition to having 10 1,000-yard rushing seasons, five 1,500-yard rushing seasons, and 77 100-yard rushing games.

As Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton points out, however, Payton was much more than just a football player. The contributors (many of whom are Chicagoans themselves) certainly highlight Payton's great athletic ability, his impressive stats, and the respect felt for him by his professional colleagues. But they also honor Payton the family man, the practical joker who loved to set off firecrackers in the locker room, and the philanthropist who quietly gave thousands of dollars to charities throughout Illinois. Dozens of photos, quotes from friends and family, and a handful of short essays will help football fans remember a time when life was a little sweeter. A fitting tribute to the man Mike Ditka called "the best football player I've ever seen, and probably one of the best people I've ever met." --Sunny Delaney ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great for Walter Payton Fans
Great pictures.This is a gift for my son who has been a Walter Payton fan for many years.We looked for this book when he passed away and is elated that he finally has it.

"In Chicago, Michael Jordan was Revered. Walter was Loved"
...one of the quotes in the book attributed to Bears Coach Mike Ditka. I agree with that, and I think anyone who reads this book will come to understand why. His accomplishments on the football field, as great as they were, were secondary. He was a great human being. We were fortunate to have had him as long as we did.

I'm sure this book is of more interest to Chicago Bears fans than it might be to those who aren't, but it needn't be that way; this is a great and meaningful book that everyone can enjoy. Yeager follows Walter's life an career in chronological order from his youth in Mississippi, through his years and Jackson State, his marriage, Bears career and ultimately his retirement and death. The format is generally quotes from others close to him at those times: his brother Eddie, college coach, teammates - particularly Matt Suhey, Roland Harper and Mike Singletary, coaches, friends and business associates. Yeager himself contributes based on his interviews with Walter and includes many details of his discussions with him. The best parts of the book, in my view, are the quotes from Walter himself.

Regardless of whether the reader is from Chicago or a Bears fan, I think this book is well worth the price if only for one of the later chapters. I don't have the book handy at the moment, but while he was dying, he spoke to Yeager in three or four paragraphs about what is is to be a Winner. Walter's comments were touching, profound and in my view as a Chicagoan and a Bear fan, defined who he was.

I'd highly recommend picking the book up just to read those passages. I think every parent should share those passages with their kids as I did - and continue to from time to time. They serve as a constant reminder of what is really important in life from a great man who understood.

He made us all very proud. I'm glad to heave read the book and refer to it often. Walter will never be forgotten.

AWESOME SWEETNESS
Walter Payton was the model of what every player should be like, even in today's "me only" generation. Walter was a first class football player amd first class individual as well.

He is what other players should strive to be like, Walter broke the mold and still stands as the premiere football player of all time. Walter can not and will never be replaced, he represented what all of us should be like no matter what color we are or where we came from or anything!

A truly remarkable individual that went beyond being a great football player, Walter was a great person as well. If a person couldn't be inspired by what Walter Payton represented, they just couldn't be inspired with anything!

I named my son after his son, and my family will never forget watching #34 on the field on Sunday's. Walter is my all time hero and inspiration, and always will be.

A good book about a good man
This is a terrific book, especially for parents who want to show theirsports-mad kids a real role model.The photos are wonderful, and the textdescribes the whole man, not just the football player.And he was as gooda man as he was player, and there wasn't ever a better player.

Give thisto a football-loving kid for Christmas, and try not to cry when you read ityourself.

A GREAT REMINDER OF A GREAT MAN.
"Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton" is a wonderful collection of quotes, stats, stories, and pictures illustrating the complete Payton.He was indeed one of the greatest running-backs ofall time.What this book gives, that many don't, is a review of Walter'soff-field perfomances.He was kind, caring, and loving to all.This bookclearly shows that Walter was in all aspects.....a hero.This title is amust for all those who miss the headbands, the dives over the goal lines,the amazing runs, the jumping high fives, and a great man----SWEETNESS! ... Read more

Product Description
Highlights the career of running back Walter Payton who started playing professional ball in 1975 with the Chicago Bears. ... Read more

Product Description
Traces the life of the professional football player who broke the NFL's career rushing record in 1984. ... Read more