Payton

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.

CONNIE NORWOOD PAYTON cochairs the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, a nonprofit charity supporting the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’ care for thousands of abandoned and neglected children. Since Walter’s passing, Connie broadened the Foundation’s charitable scope to include cancer awareness and organ donor initiatives. She is the author of Stronger Than Cancer: Treasured Insights from the Hearts and Homes of Families Fighting Cancer. Connie continues to live in the suburbs of Chicago.

JARRETT PAYTON dreamed his whole life of playing football like his father. As a running back for the University of Miami Hurricanes, Jarrett led his team in rushing, rushing touchdowns, all purpose yards, and hundred-yard games. After college he went as a free agent to the Tennessee Titans, who allocated him to the NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals. On June 11, 2004, Jarrett led the Admirals to their first ever World Bowl win, combining for 73 yards with a game high 54 rushing yards.

BRITTNEY PAYTON was born in 1985, the year her father led his team to their legendary Super Bowl triumph. She has followed in her father’s footsteps both as an avid runner and as a tireless campaigner for public health awareness and education. Brittney is one of the founding members of Youth For Life: Remembering Walter Payton - an educational campaign to encourage organ donations from young adults. Brittney attends DePaul University where she is pursuing a degree in communications.