Walter Payton 24x36 Painting of 1976 Topps Rookie Card

This is a Painting of the 1976 Topps Rookie Card 24x36 almost the size of a poster. painted by D.DRUMMER. This is a nice piece for any Chicago Bears collector or Walter Payton Fan. This is a one of a kind and was done for a promotion. The winner pays $40.00 postage and insurance is extra. You can pay with PayPal.

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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 League’s record for most career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, and many other categories. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen—but 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 as the 1975 Draft’s fourth overall pick. Payton proceeded to win two NFL Player of the Year Awards, and won Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears. After struggling with the rare liver disease primary sclerosing cholangitis for several months, Payton died on November 1, 1999.

Although Payton had established himself as one of the state’s top running back prospects, he received no invitations from Southeastern Conference colleges and universities, which were accepting only a few black players at the time. He decided to pursue his collegiate career at the historically African-American, Jackson State University, where his older brother Eddie had played football (turning down a scholarship offer from the University of Kansas, where fellow Chicago Bears running back legend Gale Sayers had played).

While attending Jackson State, Payton played alongside many future professional football players, including Jerome Barkum, Robert Brazile, and Jackie Slater. As a member of the Jackson State Tigers, Payton rushed for more than 3,500 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Also, he broke the NCAA’s scoring record by rushing for 65 touchdowns during his college career. In 1973 and 1974, Payton was selected for the All-American Team and was named Black College Player of the Year. Payton graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor's degree in communication.

He acquired the nickname "Sweetness" in college. This name was ambiguous: it is variously said to have stemmed from his personality, from his athletic grace, or as an ironic description of his aggressive playing style. In 1996, Payton was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

On January 28, 1975, the Chicago Bears drafted Payton in the first round, as the fourth overall pick. The Bears had endured several losing seasons after the retirement of the iconic Gale Sayers in 1972. Payton's first game was not particularly successful; he was held to zero net rushing yards on eight attempts. His best performance of the season was the final game against the New Orleans Saints, where he rushed for 134 yards on 20 carries. Payton finished the season with only 679 yards and seven touchdowns.

Payton was eager to improve his performance. During the 1976 NFL season, Payton rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. After the season, he was selected to play in the 1977 Pro Bowl, where he was declared the Pro Bowl MVP. The next year, he rushed for 1,852 yards and scored 16 touchdowns, becoming the league’s leading scorer for the season. He earned numerous awards that season, including the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America’s Most Valuable Player awards. His most memorable game of the season was against the Minnesota Vikings on November 20, in which he rushed for a then-record 275 yards on 40 carries while combating the flu. By the end of the decade, Payton had received additional accolades for his exploits as a blocker, receiver, emergency punter, and quarterback

The Bears struggled to assemble consecutive winning seasons, landing only two playoff berths since his arrival. The lack of success prompted the Bears’ management to replace Neill Armstrong with Mike Ditka for the season that began in the Fall of 1982. Ditka, a Tight end during the 1960s and 1970s who would also join the Pro Football Hall of Fame, led the Bears to a 3-6 (strike-shortened) record in 1982. He led the Bears to an 8-8 finish in 1983 and to a 10-6 finish in 1984. Payton continued his success by rushing for more than 1,400 yards in both seasons. On October 7, 1984, Payton broke Jim Brown's career rushing record.

In 1985, Payton rushed for more than 1,500 yards, while helping the Bears establish the league’s second-best offense. The Bear's 46 defense of that season would go on to become one of the best in NFL history setting a record for points allowed. Payton performed with his teammates in the widely released 1985 music video The Super Bowl Shuffle. The Bears went on to a 15-1 record that culminated in a 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Although Payton's offensive prowess had assisted the Bears throughout the 1985 season, the New England Patriots prevented him from reaching the end zone. According to quarterback Jim McMahon, he was targeted by two or three defensive Patriots during each play.

In a later interview, Ditka stated that Payton's lack of a touchdown in this game was one of his major regrets.

Payton, who was a twelve-year veteran, amassed 1,333 yards in the 1986 NFL season. The Bears won the NFC Central Division, but lost to the Washington Redskins 27-13 in the divisional round. At the end of the 1986 season, he announced that he would retire after completing the 1987 NFL season. During his last season with the Bears, Payton split carries with his successor, Neal Anderson, and rushed for only 533 yards. Payton's career ended with another loss to the Washington Redskins in the divisional round of the playoffs by the score of 21-17 on January 10, 1988. Over his entire career, Payton rushed for 16,726 yards and scored 110 touchdowns. Also, he caught 492 passes for 4,538 yards and 15 touchdowns. Payton set several team records, including most career rushing yards, receptions, and touchdowns. His jersey number was retired by the Bears, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. The only game he missed in his 13-year career came in his rookie season of 1975. His ankle was injured, and an assistant coach held him out of play; the miss rankled Payton for years afterwards

Payton's motto was Never Die Easy, which is also the title of his posthumously published autobiography. Payton attributed this motto to Bob Hill, his coach at Jackson State. In practice, this meant that Payton refused to deliberately run out-of-bounds, and always delivered some punishment to his tacklers before being forced off the field or forced down.

One of Payton's signature maneuvers was the "stutter-step," a high-stepping, irregularly paced run. He developed this as a way to distract his pursuers during long runs, saying that it startled them into thinking and gave him some advantage over players who were actually faster runners. He revived the practice of stiff-arming his tacklers, which had gone out of favor among running backs in the 1970s. At times, he used his high school experience as a long jumper to leap over his opponents, landing on his head in the end zone to gain a touchdown in a game against the Buffalo Bills. His running gait was somewhat unusual, as his knees were minimally bent, and the motion was largely powered from the hip. This may have given his knees, a football player's most vulnerable joints, some protection, although he underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees in 1983. He referred to this procedure as an 11,000-yard checkup.

After scoring a touchdown, Payton declined to celebrate; instead, he would often hand the ball to his teammates. He disapproved of the growing practice of touchdown celebrations; he preferred post-game antics such as rushing into the locker room and locking his fellow teammates out in the cold while taking a long shower.

Although Payton might have won the respect of his peers and coaches by his running alone, he made 492 receptions over his career and was a consistent threat in the passing game

Payton's legacy continues through the charitable Walter and Connie Payton Foundation. His own appeals—and after his death, his foundation's—for greater awareness of the need for organ donations are widely credited with bringing national attention to the problem. After his appeals, donations in Illinois skyrocketed, and the regional organ bank of Illinois was overwhelmed with calls. In response, the City of Chicago inserted organ donation requests into city-vehicle-registration mailings in early 2000, and by August 2000, 13,000 people had signed on to the program. The foundation continues to run a program that Payton organized to donate toys to underprivileged children across the Chicago area each Christmas. The family established the Walter Payton Cancer Fund in 2002.

Many modern NFL running backs have cited Payton as a source of inspiration. Emmitt Smith tearfully paid homage to Payton after breaking Payton’s rushing record. LaDainian Tomlinson, who set numerous records during the 2006 NFL season, named Payton as one of his foremost mentors and inspirations. Ahman Green, a former player for the Bears' rival Green Bay Packers (now with the Houston Texans), is said to have idolized Payton, viewing the highlight film "Pure Payton" before each game. Walter's son, Jarrett Payton, was a running back for the Tennessee Titans, NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals and CFL's Montreal Alouettes. During his tenure at the University of Miami, Jarrett wore a #34 jersey to honor his father's memory.

The city of Chicago has honored Payton’s memory in several ways. In 1999, the city created a special license plate and city sticker that featured Payton. The profits from the sales were given to support organ-donor programs across Illinois. Also, the city named a high school, Walter Payton College Prep, in his honor. In September 2007, the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center opened the Walter Payton Liver Center. Chicago Metra commuters have long been witness to a simple "#34 Sweetness," painted on a bridge piling of the Air Line on the south end of the Chicago Union Station yards.

There are two athletic awards named after Payton. The NCAA gives the "Walter Payton Award" to the best offensive player from a Division I FCS (still often known by its former designation of Division I-AA) football team. The NFL hands out the "Walter Payton Man of the Year" award for player achievements in community service during a particular season.

9× Pro Bowl selection (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)
6× First-team All-Pro selection (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985)
3× Second-team All-Pro (1976, 1983, 1986)
1977 NFL MVP
1977 PFWA NFL MVP
1977 NEA NFL MVP
1985 UPI NFC Player of the Year
1977 UPI NFC Player of the Year
1978 Pro Bowl MVP
Super Bowl XX Champion
Chicago Bears #34 retired