The Bears made history 50 years ago Tuesday, selecting superstar running back Walter Payton with the fourth overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft.
Interestingly, the Bears won a coin flip with the Browns for the No. 4 choice. Cleveland selected defensive end Mack Mitchell at No. 5.
Payton played at tiny Jackson State, but he was not an unknown commodity entering the 1975 draft. The Mississippi native was a two-time first-team All-American who set the NCAA scoring record with 464 points, established nine school records and received votes for the Heisman Trophy.
"He wasn't any deep secret," then-Bears coach Jack Pardee said Jan. 28, 1975, the day Payton was drafted. "Everyone in the country knows about him."
Maybe so, but few imagined that Payton would become the NFL's all-time leading rusher and arguably the greatest player in Bears history. Then again, the man nicknamed "Sweetness" was convinced that he would enjoy a special career in the Windy City.
"When I get through with Chicago, they'll be loving me," Payton predicted the day he was drafted.
The next day, the Chicago Tribune speculated that "Payton's addition raised immediate doubt about the future of (incumbent running back) Carl Garrett with the Bears."
Heading into the draft, running back was considered the Bears' biggest need. Ken Grandberry had led the team in rushing in 1974 with just 475 yards and two touchdowns on 144 carries.
Many scouts felt that Texas A&I's Don Hardeman was the best runner available. But Hardeman was selected by the Houston Oilers with the 15th pick and rushed for only 1,460 yards and 11 touchdowns on 397 carries in five NFL seasons with the Oilers and Baltimore Colts.
The three players chosen ahead of Payton were quarterback Steve Bartkowski (Atlanta Falcons), defensive tackle Randy White (Dallas Cowboys) and guard Ken Huff (Colts).
The only Hall of Famers from the 1975 draft are Payton, White and defensive end Fred Dean, who was picked by the San Diego Chargers in the second round.
The Bears insisted that they would have selected Payton if they had the No. 1 pick. When the Colts chose Huff, Pardee revealed that "a nice cheer went up" in Chicago's draft room.
"We've been sweating it out all night," he said. "What happened is what we were hoping for. Had we been in Atlanta's spot, we'd have chosen Walter Payton. We thought that much of him."
Payton spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Bears from 1975-87, missing just one game and retiring as the league's all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards. He was voted to nine Pro Bowls—second to Mike Singletary's 10 in Bears history—set 27 team records and had his No. 34 retired.
Payton was a key member of the famed 1985 Bears, who will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their magical Super Bowl championship season this year.
