WE MUST LEARN THE BATTLE IS BEFORE US...
I HAVE ANOTHER HERO: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF WALTER PAYTON?
Walter Jerry Payton from the state of Mississippi. Payton lived from July 25,1954
until November 1, 1999. He was 45 years old when he died of a liver disease. Mike Ditka
was Payton's coach and he said: WALTER WAS A GREAT FOOTBALL PLAYER, BUT HE
WAS A GREATER MAN. Payton's nick name was SWEETNESS.
Payton was drafted by the Chicago Bears to play in the National Football League.
He played 13 seasons and had a Super Bowl Ring as he lead his team to the Super Bowl.
13 seasons in the NFL
The greatest running back of his time.
9 x's elected to the Pro Bowl.
2 x's he was the (MVP) Most Valuable Player in the NFL.
16,726 Rushing Yards --- (a record at the time) averaged 3.8 yards per carry.
4,538 Receiving Yards --- on 492 receptions.
110 Touch Downs
8 Touch Down passes
Someone once asked Walter where did your greatness start? Well Walter played in the band
at his high school and never played football his first two seasons. Walter thought a while and
said: WHEN I STARTED PLAYING MY JUNIOR YEAR THE COACH TOLD US TO RUN UP
AND DOWN THE HILL BEHIND THE SCHOOL 25 TIMES. Most of the players ran up and down
the hill a few times and went to the LOCKER ROOM. I started to go with them and then I thought:
NO, THE COACH SAID RUN THE HILL 25 TIMES, SO I WENT BACK AND WAS THE ONLY
ONE WHo WOULD RUN THE HILL 25 TIMES. THAT MAY HAVE BEEN A TURNING POINT
FOR ME.
16,726 RUSHING YARDS! 4,538 RECEIVING YARDS FOR A TOTAL OF 21,264 YARDS...
MEANS HE WAS BRUTALLY TACKLED OVER 7,088 --- 9,000 TIMES.
BASICALLY 9,000 TIMES HE WAS CRUSHED BY HIS OPPONENTS...
DO YOU KNOW PAYTON'S MOTTO? NEVER DIE EASY ---
ALWAYS GET UP --- NEVER QUIT --- KEEP ON TRYING...
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com