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Overview
In the twelve years since his death from cancer, Walter Payton’s legend has only grown in magnitude. The Hall of Fame running back, who broke Jim Brown’s all-time NFL rushing mark, appeared in nine Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl ring with the 1985 Chicago Bears, and is still revered throughout the sporting landscape. Payton has become the lasting image of what’s great about football. Yet in mindlessly canonizing the man simply known as “Sweetness,” we have missed the opportunity to understand—and appreciate—one of the most uniquely complex and enigmatic superstars in the history of American sports.
No longer. Based on meticulous research and interviews with nearly seven hundred family members, friends, teammates, and various associates, Sweetness delivers an unforgettable portrait of a man who lived his life just like he played the game: at full speed. From his childhood in segregated Mississippi, to Chicago, where Payton emerged from athlete to icon as he broke the NFL’s all-time rushing record and led the Bears to Super Bowl glory; to his darker moments battling depression and adjusting to life after football, Sweetness is an eloquently written, revelatory saga of a complex, guarded superstar who died far too young.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781592407378 |
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Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
Publication date: | 08/28/2012 |
Pages: | 496 |
Sales rank: | 183,301 |
Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d) |
About the Author

Table of Contents
Prologue xiii
Part 1 Columbia
Chapter 1 Bubba 3
Chapter 2 Learning the Game 19
Chapter 3 Black and White 29
Chapter 4 The Emergence 38
Chapter 5 Recruitment 54
Part 2 Jackson
Chapter 6 Jackson State 65
Chapter 7 Soul 82
Chapter 8 Connie 95
Chapter 9 Heisman Hopes 107
Part 3 Chicago
Chapter 10 Going Pro 123
Chapter 11 Birth of Sweetness 140
Chapter 12 Zero Yards 158
Chapter 13 The Wake-Up Call 172
Chapter 14 The Strangest Run 186
Chapter 15 Darkness 207
Chapter 16 The Unbearable Bears 223
Chapter 17 A Rose in a Dandelion Garden 244
Chapter 16 Power 255
Chapter 19 Shuffle 280
Chapter 20 Super Letdown 304
Chapter 21 Aftermath 316
Part 4 Retirement
Chapter 22 Now What? 341
Chapter 23 A Bottomless Void 368
Chapter 24 Depression 376
Part 5 Final
Chapter 25 Sick 393
Chapter 26 The End 409
Chapter 27 Legacy 417
Chapter 28 Afterword 424
Acknowledge 431
Notes 437
Bibliography 467
Index 471
What People are Saying About This
"Pearlman did not set out to expose Payton but to understand him, to identify and define the qualities that made him so appealing. He was a football-playing hero to millions, true, but he was also a human being of considerable complexity. There’s a story in how those two sides intersected, and a skilled biographer gets to that story ... If Walter Payton, magnificent football player and Chicago treasure, is enough for you, ignore the book and cherish your memories. If Walter Payton, flawed but fascinating human being, intrigues you, read it. You might come away with a greater appreciation."
—The New York Times