Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton [Hardcover]

Triumph Books (Author), H & S Media Incorporated (Author), H&S Media (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The day Walter Payton died, Chicago Bears owner Virginia McCaskey tearfully said, "After Brian Piccolo died, my husband Ed and I promised ourselves we wouldn't be so personally involved with any of the players. We were able to follow that resolve until Walter Payton came into our lives." Payton was magical to watch, playing with a toughness that never failed to impress opponents, teammates, and fans alike. Alternately graceful and bruising, Payton ran, leapt, and battered his way to eight NFL records in his 13-year career--including the most rushing yards in a single game (275), most career rushing yards (16,726), and most career total yards (21,803), in addition to having 10 1,000-yard rushing seasons, five 1,500-yard rushing seasons, and 77 100-yard rushing games.

As Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton points out, however, Payton was much more than just a football player. The contributors (many of whom are Chicagoans themselves) certainly highlight Payton's great athletic ability, his impressive stats, and the respect felt for him by his professional colleagues. But they also honor Payton the family man, the practical joker who loved to set off firecrackers in the locker room, and the philanthropist who quietly gave thousands of dollars to charities throughout Illinois. Dozens of photos, quotes from friends and family, and a handful of short essays will help football fans remember a time when life was a little sweeter. A fitting tribute to the man Mike Ditka called "the best football player I've ever seen, and probably one of the best people I've ever met." --Sunny Delaney

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572433590
• ISBN-13: 978-1572433595
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #481,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( P ) > Payton, Walter

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book about a good man, July 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton (Hardcover)

This is a terrific book, especially for parents who want to show their sports-mad kids a real role model. The photos are wonderful, and the text describes the whole man, not just the football player. And he was as good a man as he was player, and there wasn't ever a better player.

Give this to a football-loving kid for Christmas, and try not to cry when you read it yourself.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT REMINDER OF A GREAT MAN., February 12, 2000

By 

"jeffreyrex" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton (Hardcover)

"Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton" is a wonderful collection of quotes, stats, stories, and pictures illustrating the complete Payton. He was indeed one of the greatest running-backs of all time. What this book gives, that many don't, is a review of Walter's off-field perfomances. He was kind, caring, and loving to all. This book clearly shows that Walter was in all aspects.....a hero. This title is a must for all those who miss the headbands, the dives over the goal lines, the amazing runs, the jumping high fives, and a great man----SWEETNESS!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "In Chicago, Michael Jordan was Revered. Walter was Loved", August 13, 2009

By 

Wally Fan (Huntington Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton (Hardcover)

...one of the quotes in the book attributed to Bears Coach Mike Ditka. I agree with that, and I think anyone who reads this book will come to understand why. His accomplishments on the football field, as great as they were, were secondary. He was a great human being. We were fortunate to have had him as long as we did.

I'm sure this book is of more interest to Chicago Bears fans than it might be to those who aren't, but it needn't be that way; this is a great and meaningful book that everyone can enjoy. Yeager follows Walter's life an career in chronological order from his youth in Mississippi, through his years and Jackson State, his marriage, Bears career and ultimately his retirement and death. The format is generally quotes from others close to him at those times: his brother Eddie, college coach, teammates - particularly Matt Suhey, Roland Harper and Mike Singletary, coaches, friends and business associates. Yeager himself contributes based on his interviews with Walter and includes many details of his discussions with him. The best parts of the book, in my view, are the quotes from Walter himself.

Regardless of whether the reader is from Chicago or a Bears fan, I think this book is well worth the price if only for one of the later chapters. I don't have the book handy at the moment, but while he was dying, he spoke to Yeager in three or four paragraphs about what is is to be a Winner. Walter's comments were touching, profound and in my view as a Chicagoan and a Bear fan, defined who he was.

I'd highly recommend picking the book up just to read those passages. I think every parent should share those passages with their kids as I did - and continue to from time to time. They serve as a constant reminder of what is really important in life from a great man who understood.

He made us all very proud. I'm glad to heave read the book and refer to it often. Walter will never be forgotten.