TheB;
Tie Battalion
Sports
Page 7 • Tuesday, November 2, 1999
Payton dead at age 45
CHICAGO (AP) — Walter Pay-
Iton, the NFL’s greatest rusher
whose aggressive style masked a
playful temperament that earned
liim the nickname “Sweetness,”
[died yesterday at age 45.
Payton was diagnosed earlier
[this year with primary sclerosing
cholangitis, a rare liver disease.
His only hope for survival was a
transplant and he had been on a
[waiting list since February.
Payton rushed for 16,726 yards
[in his 13-year career, one of sport’s
most awesome records. And Bar
ry Sanders ensured it would be
one of the most enduring, retiring
in July despite being just 1,458
yards shy of breaking Payton’s
I mark.
“I want to set the record so high
[that the next person who tries for
it, it’s going to bust his heart,”
jPayton once said.
Payton was coached for six
[years by Mike Ditka, now coach of
[the New Orleans Saints, who
called him “the best football play-
[er I’ve ever seen.”
‘It’s sad to me because he had
|a lot greater impact on me than I
[had on him,” Ditka said.
“And he led by example on the
[field. He was the complete player.
He did everything. ... He was the
greatest runner, but he was also
probably the best blocking back
[you ever saw. ”
Payton was widely celebrated
[in Chicago, the city’s highest-pro-
jfile athlete in the years after Cubs’
Hall of Famer Ernie Banks retired
land before Bulls’ superstar
Michael Jordan emerged.
“Walter was a Chicago icon
atural resoura* I ' on « be j ore 1 " r , ived ‘here." Jor-
i Dishman. ajiwJ m a stalement issued af-
Uer the sabre arts ter Payton s dea h He was a
; great man off the field and his on-
| the-field accomplishments speak
for themselves. I spent a lot of
time with Walter, and I truly feel
that we have lost a great man.”
JR BEATOMt:
11
Li to a
4\
t
A two-time Little All-American,
Payton finished fourth in voting
for the Heisman Trophy in 1974,
and was picked fourth overall by
the Bears in the 1975 NFL draft.
He rushed for 679 yards and sev
en touchdowns in his rookie sea
son and the next year had the first
of what would be 10 1,000-yard
seasons, rushing for 1,390 yards
and 13 touchdowns.
In 1977, just his third year in
the NFL, Payton won the first of
two MVP awards with the most
productive season of his career. He
rushed for 1,852 yards and 14
touchdowns, both career highs.
His 5.5 yards per carry also was
the best of his career.
Against Minnesota, he ran for
275 yards, an NFL single-game
record that still stands. And in
1984, he broke Jim Brown’s long
standing rushing record of 12,312
yards.
After carrying mediocre Chica
go teams for most of his career, the
Bears finally made it to the Super
Bowl in 1985. Payton rushed for
1,551 yards and nine touchdowns
as the Bears went 15-1 in the reg
ular season, and also caught 49
passes for 483 yards receiving and
two TDs.
Chicago beat New England 46-
10 in the Super Bowl, but Payton
did not score in the game.
When he disclosed his illness at
an emotional news conference in
February, he looked gaunt and
frail, a shadow of the man who
gained more yards than any run
ning back in the history of the
NFL.
“Am I scared? Hell yeah, I’m
scared. Wouldn’t you be scared?”
he asked. “But it’s not in my hands
anymore. It’s in God’s hands.”
Payton made few public ap
pearances after that and his son,
Jarrett, who plays for the Univer
sity of Miami, was called home
Wednesday night.
The numbers of
‘Sweetness’
Here is a look at the career of
Walter Payton.
Walter
Payton
Running back
Chicago Bears
(1975-87)
Elected to Hall
of Fame-1993
16,726
Career rushing yards,
an NFL record
275
Yards rushing in a single
game, an NFL record
3,838
Career carries,
an NFL record
21,803
Total yards gained career,
an NFL record
110
Career rushing touchdowns
9
Consecutive games with 100
or more yards rushing
10
Seasons with 1,000 or more
rushing yards
JP BEATO/Thi. Battalion
Sophomore cross country runner Andrea Bookout has been the Aggies” top runner in every race this season.
Comeback Kid
After stint in Arizona, Bookout returns 'home'
Source: AP research AP
Reports of how sick Payton was
first surfaced Sunday, with at least
two East coast radio stations re
porting prematurely that he had
died.
One newspaper columnist
wrote that he was not expected to
live through the weekend.
Yesterday, in the hours after
the announcement of Payton’s
death, the Bears’ blue and orange
see Payton on Page 8.
BY BLAINE DIONNE
The Battalion
W hen A&M sophomore
cross country runner An
drea Bookout faced the
important decision of choosing
what college to attend after her se
nior year of high school, she did
not think she would ever change
her mind.
When she decided to attend
Northern Arizona University in
Flagstaff, Ariz., she did it for the
reasons many student-athletes
choose a particular school: the
strength of its athletic program and
its prominence in that student-ath
lete’s particular sport.
Something was missing in Ari
zona, though, and by the spring of
her freshman year, the Woodlands
native was homesick. She was
looking to come back to Texas, but
little did she know how coinciden
tal her path home would be.
Bookout had a friend from her
hometown who lived in Haas Hall
on the A&M campus. Also, cross
country sophomore runners Katy
Gilstrap and Sarah Shauger were
living in the room across the hall
from Bookout’s friend. One day,
the mutual friend mentioned in
passing to the two runners that
Bookout was also a runner and was
interested in coming back to Texas.
Through her correspondence
with the two runners, Bookout’s
friend learned of the arrival of cross
country coach Dave Hartman.
When she told Bookout, Bookout
became interested in learning more
about the program.
After gaining the approval of her
coach at Northern Arizona, Book
out contacted the A&M Athletic De
partment, starting the process of
transferring schools.
Normally, when student-ath
letes transfer from one institution
to another, they have to sit out their
first year with their new team.
Luckily for the Aggie harriers.
Northern Arizona was gracious
enough to grant her a release from
sitting out her first year at A&M,
and Bookout has had an immedi
ate impact, finishing as the Aggies’
top runner thus far this season.
Hartman said he is grateful for
her arrival and subsequent positive
influence on the team.
“Last year, our women had the
talent, they were just a little hesi
tant to go to the front of the pack
or push the pace of a race,” Hart
man said. “Andrea came in and re
ally took control of workouts with
her aggressive style and toughness.
see Bookout on Page 8.
remony
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