This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/5/2018
There are plenty of great football players at the college ranks, but it takes a true legend to turn a perennial also-ran into a champion at the pro level. Walter Payton did. Drafted with the #4 overall pick in 1975, "Sweetness" was joining a Chicago Bears team that had finished dead last in their division for three straight years and hadn't posted a winning record since 1967. After another 4-10 season in 1975, the Bears improved to 7-7 in 1976 and 9-5 in 1977, as Payton earned the NFL MVP award with a league-leading 1,852 rushing yards and 14 TDs. But in 1985, the Chicago Bears so completely dominated the league like no team in NFL history. The Bears posted a 15-1 record, scoring 456 points while allowing only 198. In 11 of their 16 regular season games, the Bears held their opponent to 10 points or less, including a 3-game stretch when they outscored the Lions, Cowboys, and Falcons by a combined total of 104-3. After shutting out the Giants 21-0 and the Rams 24-0 to win the NFC title, the Bears demolished the New England Patriots 46-10 in the Super Bowl. Patriots guard Ron Wooten said after the game, "Before the end, it kind of felt like we were the team that the Globetrotters play all the time." Walter Payton capped off a 13-year career, all as a member of Chicago Bears, as the NFL record holder with 16,726 rushing yards and 110 rushing TDs. Presented is one of the most treasured and important jerseys in the history of the NFL, the game-used jersey worn by Hall of Famer Walter Payton during that unimaginable 1985 season! Tagged with a Wilson size 44 label on the left front tail, the jersey exhibits excellent game use, with scuff marks, stains, and no less than seven team repairs on the front and back. The shoulders have double reinforced mesh and there appears to be no other alterations of any kind. LOA from Richard Russek, Andy Imperato/ Grey Flannel and Mile High Card Company.