Authors: Jeff Pearlman
Lastly, a word about Walter Payton. Actually, three words: I love him. I love what he overcame, I love what he accomplished, I love what he symbolized, and I love the nooks and crannies and complexities. Once, not all that long ago, I asked my uncle, Dr. Martin Pearlman, whether he thought much about aging and death. His response has stayed with me. “No,” Uncle Marty said, “I try to think about the richness of life. It’s more fun that way.”
NOTES
CHAPTER 1
3
Chip Loftin had a festive party on his fifth birthday
: “Chip Loftin Has Festive Party On Fifth Birthday,”
Columbian-Progress
, April 16, 1970.
5
In 1937 Marion County’s Historical Society commissioned
: Marion County Historical Research Project, January 21, 1937, by Maggie Byrd and Gizelle Sylverstein.
5
“The first meal I ever cooked”
: Janet Harrison English, “Most Valuable Biscuit-Maker,”
Jackson Clarion-Ledger
, March 4, 1992.
6
Columbia was a place where the camellias
: Industrial Survey of Columbia, Miss., by the New Industries Department Mississippi Power Company, 1962.
6
“Back then we didn’t have birth control”
: “Mrs. Alyne Payton: A true definition of the world ‘Mother,’ ”
Jackson State University Athletic Foundation News
, Fall 2001.
7
When Walter and his Bluff Road pals weren’t weaving through dill stacks
: Mark Sufrin
, Payton
(New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1988), 38–39.
8
James Meredith, who in 1962 became the first black
: Paul Hendrickson,
Sons of Mississippi
(New York: Vintage, 2004), 68.
8
“I told my children I was going to raise them”
: “Mrs. Alyne Payton: A true definition of the world ‘Mother,’ ”
Jackson State University Athletic Foundation News
, Fall 2001.
9
He also manned a five-acre garden
: Walter Payton with Don Yaeger,
Never Die Easy
(New York: Random House, 2001), 21.
9
“We didn’t have a babysitter”
: “Mrs. Alyne Payton: A true definition of the world ‘Mother,’ ”
Jackson State University Athletic Foundation News
, Fall 2001.
10
“When
Tarzan
was over”
: Walter Payton with Jerry B. Jenkins,
Sweetness
(New York: Contemporary Books, 1978), 21.
12
Alyne’s goal was to win the
Columbian-Progress
’ Yard of the Week
: Rick Telander, “Bears’ Unclear Situation Gives Payton Plenty to Worry About,”
Chicago Sun-Times
, January 26, 1996.
12
“It rains like you wouldn’t believe during the summer”
: Payton and Yaeger,
Never Die Easy
, 23.
12
“[My mother is] probably the reason I’m so muscular”
: Bobby Hall, “Payton Finds His Place In College Football’s Society,”
The Commercial Appeal
(Memphis), November 9, 1974.
13
Whenever Alyne stumbled upon a vintage
: John Husar, “Mama The Coach,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 30, 1977.
14
“When you have an angry sister chasing you with a broom”
: Tom Fitzgerald, “Sibling rivalry at Payton’s place motivated runner,”
The Topeka Capital-Journal
, November 30, 1999.
15
Afterward, everyone would retreat to Cook’s Dairy Delight
: Anna Nixon, “Mrs. Cooks: A favorite spot since the 1950’s,”
Columbian-Progress
, August 6, 1987.
16
“Eddie loved school and he loved football”
: “Mrs. Alyne Payton: A true definition of the world ‘Mother,’ ”
Jackson State University Athletic Foundation News
, Fall 2001.
17
“I look back at my style of playing football, and that evolved”
: Payton and Yaeger,
Never Die Easy,
29.
CHAPTER 2
24
“The first time I got the ball in practice”
: Payton and Jenkins,
Sweetness
, 37–38.
25
On October 30, 1969, the
Columbian-Progress
actually ran
: “Jefferson High,”
Columbian-Progress
, October 30, 1969.
CHAPTER 3
31
With its April 10, 1969, staff editorial, titled RACE DIFFERENCES
: Lester Williams, “Race Differences,”
Columbian-Progress
, April 10, 1969.
32
Thurman Sensing, a columnist for the
Progress
and executive vice president
: Thurman Sensing, “HEW’s Attack on Freedom of Choice,”
Columbian-Progress
, January 1, 1970.
35
Eight teenagers, all white, paraded back and forth
: Bill Crider, “Desegregation Comes Quietly At Columbia High School,”
Associated Press
, January 6, 1970.
CHAPTER 4
39
On April 27, 1970, Columbia High announced the hiring
: “New Columbia Wildcats Coach is Announced,”
Columbian-Progress
, April 30, 1970.
42
As is often the case, the game failed to meet
: “Columbia Wildcats Paw Bulldogs 14-6,”
Columbian-Progress
, September 10, 1970.
45
“It was a long [run], and I was hit”
: Payton and Jenkins,
Sweetness
, 44.
47
“I began to see that once in a great while you can use”
: Ibid.
CHAPTER 5
57
“I didn’t let them fight”
: Telander, “He’s Aiming to Make History,”
Sports Illustrated
, September 5, 1984.
58
That spring a portly defensive assistant from Florida State
: Steve Conroy, “Football Bill misses Payton’s place,”
Boston Herald
, July 19, 1994.
59
The school had gained fame for producing Willie Heidelburg
: Rick Cleveland and Billy Watkins, “It took rare type to integrate college football,”
Jackson Daily News,
July 1, 1984.
60
“The campus was as beautiful as I remembered it”
: Payton and Jenkins,
Sweetness
, 51–52.
61
Alyne Payton—strong-willed, tough, focused
: Sufrin,
Payton
, 51.
62
A rugged former lieutenant commander in the navy
: Kansas State University Library, Exhibit: K-State Presidents & Their First Ladies.
CHAPTER 6
65
“Before it’s too late, you had better start thinking”
: Jonathan Grant, “Awaken Black Youths,”
The Blue and White Flash
, November 1971.
66
Grant’s piece ran alongside another column
: Tommie Steen Calhoun, “A Black Man’s Hope,”
The Blue and White Flash
, November 1971.
66
The altercation began when police mistook the sound
: Jesse Crow, “Person of the Day: James Green,”
Jackson Free Press
, April 27, 2010.
68
“I was feeling right at home”
: Payton and Jenkins,
Sweetness
, 56.
76
The paper finally got around to the Tigers
: Orley Hood, “J-State Seeks Improvement,”
Jackson Daily News
, September 5, 1971.
80
Walter Payton’s first collegiate touchdown
: David Boone, “Jackson St. Rattles Bishop,”
Jackson Daily News
, October 10, 1971.
CHAPTER 7
83
“If you have to come under control to make a cut”
: Don Pierson, “The Last Word,”
Chicago Tribune
, November 7, 1999.
86
“At first I was glad to room with people”
: Payton and Jenkins,
Sweetness
, 61.
88
The Tigers were returning twenty-three lettermen
: “Frosh Stars, 23 Lettermen Set For Play At Jackson State,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, September 3, 1972.
93
A sellout crowd arrived at Memorial Stadium the following
: Billy Brantley, “Jackson State Rips Kentucky State, 28-14,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, October 1, 1972.
CHAPTER 8
96–97
She was even a standout dancer
: Payton and Yaeger,
Never Die Easy
, 60.
97
“I was very surprised to hear Walter’s distinctive, high-pitched voice”
: Connie Payton, Jarrett Payton, and Brittney Payton,
Payton
(New York: Rugged Land, 2005), 28.
97
“We spent that evening just kind of talking about her”
: Payton and Yaeger,
Never Die Easy
, 60–61.
98
“When it was dinnertime, he wouldn’t eat”
: Ibid., 61.
99
“A greyhound with muscles”
: Red Smith, “Philadelphia Story,”
The New York Times
, January 12, 1981.
100
A mere three months later, Montgomery ran for 146 yards
: “Faces in the Crowd,”
Sports Illustrated
, November 12, 1973.
101
Yet despite the sludge, and despite Omaha stuffing
: “Sloppy Field Didn’t Stop JSC’s Payton,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, September 13, 1973.
102
In the immediate aftermath of the Omaha victory, Mississippi Governor Bill Waller
: “JSC’s Payton Lies In ‘SWAC Shadow,’ ”
The Clarion-Ledger
, October 4, 1973.
102
They entered the game 1-3
: “Rebounding J-State Welcomes Bishop For First Home Date,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, October 5, 1973.
105
Yet even though Waller officially proclaimed October 20
: Ponto Downing, “J-State, Grambling Head Small College Attractions,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, October 20, 1973.
106
“Payton is fantastic,” Robinson said
: Bernard Fernandez, “Payton Marked Man,”
Jackson Daily News
, November 20, 1973.
106
Some of the pain was lessened
: Al Harvin, “Jones Heads Black All-Americans,”
The New York Times
, December 20, 1973.
CHAPTER 9
108
“Most of the time, I thought, ‘You can have him’ ”
: Debra Pickett, “We were opposite, opposite,”
Chicago Sun-Times
, May 12, 2002.
110
“Long range, long-shot prediction”
:
Walter Payton, Jackson State running back”
: Dick Young, “Young Ideas,”
The Sporting News
, July 6, 1974.
111
“The Payton-for-the-Heisman drive”
: “Payton a ‘Heisman’ hopeful,”
Pascagoula Press
, September 1, 1974.
111
“There’s no comparison,” Payton told
: “Quotable,”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, January 14, 1975.
112
“What Walter really needs is exposure”
: “Flash Talks To Frank Banister,”
The Blue and White Flash
, November 21, 1974.
113
“Lots of newspapers around the nation don’t even print”
: Bernard Fernandez, “Payton Finding Place in sun at Jackson State,”
The Sporting News
, November 30, 1974.
114
With his death less than two months before the start
: Carlos Boyd, “Former Wyoming line coach dies,”
The Denver Post
, May 6, 2001.
116
The Tigers won 75–0
: John Stamm, “Tigers Rout Omaha 75-0,”
Jackson Daily News
, October 6, 1974.
116
Four days later, the
Associated Press
named
: “Buckeyes’ Griffin Back Of Week,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, October 9, 1974.
116
So lightly regarded was Jackson State
: Husar, “Team Canada stung by ‘bugs’?”
Chicago Tribune
, October 10, 1974.
117
“If they are going to go by ability”
: “Payton All-Time Scoring Champ,”
The Blue and White Flash
, November 1, 1974.
119
The only news outlet to run the photograph
: “You Be The Referee,”
The Blue and White Flash
, November 1, 1974.
119
The Tigers fell again, to Grambling
: Bill Sanders, “Tigers End Home Play,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, November 9, 1974.
119
“I’m telling you, I chugalugged”
: Payton and Jenkins,
Sweetness
, 91.
120
“Pro scouts, judging from my research”
: Tom Siler, “Griffin Leading Heisman Race,”
The Sporting News
, November 9, 1974.
CHAPTER 10
130
Three days before the January 11, 1975, contest
: Ponto Downing, “JSU’s Payton Comes Close On Prediction,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, January 12, 1975.
130
In a dull 17–17 tie, Payton
: “Mike-Mayer’s FG Earns South 17-17 Senior Tie,”
Associated Press
, January 12, 1975.
131
“I am strictly a thrower”
: Will Grimsley, “Bartkowski Wants To Play,”
Associated Press
, January 29, 1975.
131
“I remember the debate”
: CNN, Mike Ditka interview with Lou Waters. November 1, 1999.
132
“Without question, the best offensive lineman
”: “NFL Kicks Off Clouded Draft,”
Associated Press
, January 29, 1975.
133
When Ponto Downing of the
Clarion-Ledger
arrived
: Ponto Downing, “J-State Pair ‘Buzzing’ After Hearing Draft News,”
The Clarion-Ledger
, January 29, 1974.