Sweetness (81 page)

213
A couple of weeks after Armstrong
: Pierson, “Bears hire ex-coach of 49ers,”
Chicago Tribune
, March 21, 1978.

214
Were that not bad enough
: Pierson, “Bears land ‘safe pick’ in Texas star Shearer,”
Chicago Tribune
, May 3, 1978.

214
According to a scathing March 13
Tribune
article
: Pierson, “How Bear salaries rate,”
Chicago Tribune
, March 13, 1978.

214
“I wish Walter were a free agent”
: Pierson, “Agent’s goal: satisfy Payton on his worth,”
Chicago Tribune
, July 2, 1978.

214
Holmes assumed Chicago’s fans
: Bill Jauss, “Even lawyer pulls for Payton to sign,”
Chicago Tribune
, July 18, 1978.

214
On July 19, Finks offered Payton
: Pierson, “Payton weighs $375,000-a-year offer,”
Chicago Tribune
, July 20, 1978.

215
In 1997, years after both men had retired
: Caulton Tudor, “Dickerson gets Sayers’ nod as best,”
The News & Observer
(Raleigh), January 31, 1997.

216
“Walter’s not running as well as he had”
: Jauss, “Dispute hurting Walter, team—Noah,”
Chicago Tribune
, August 9, 1978.

216
Finally, one day before the Bears’
: Pierson, “Payton agrees to sign for $400,000,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 3, 1978.

216
The call came to the Chicago Bears
: “In brief,”
The New York Times
, September 5, 1978.

217
The Bears won 17–10, and Payton played
: Davis Israel, “Payton’s spark electrifies Bears,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 4, 1978.

218
“Payton is acting like a very hollow person”
: Pierson, “Payton figures to rebound,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 29, 1978.

219
In the days leading up to a matchup at Green Bay
: Rollow, “Packer pride is avenged, Luke crows,”
Chicago Tribune
, October 9, 1978,

219
On October 10, two days after
: Byron Rosen, “H-e-e-e-r-e Come the Women,”
The Washington Post
, October 12, 1978.

220
“I kind of liked Jack Pardee’s philosophy”
: “Payton said he ‘kind of liked Jack Pardee’s philosophy,’ ”
Chicago Tribune
, October 18, 1978.

221
Through the first eight games, the Bears had opened with
: Pierson, “It’s predictable—Bears will run,”
Chicago Tribune
, October 27, 1978.

CHAPTER 16

230
When asked to name his extravagances
: Pierson, “Payton,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 14, 1979.

230
“[It] just seemed like this cold, faraway”
: Pickett, “’We were opposite, opposite,’ ”
Chicago Sun-Times
, May 12, 2002.

232
“Even that great year he had [1977]”
: Pierson, “Payton: Doing it all, and doing it better,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 23, 1979.

232
The Bears beat two two-win clubs
: Pierson, “Bears’ streak doesn’t mean they’re a good team yet,”
Chicago Tribune
, November 22, 1979.

233
When the Raiders offered Ken Stabler
: “Bears Nixed Stabler,”
The Sporting News
, November 10, 1979.

234
When asked about Harold Carmichael
: Pierson, “Bears on Eagles: who you don’t know can’t hurt you,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 19, 1979. 234
Seconds before the ball was snapped
: Bob Verdi, “Payton’s pride hurt more than shoulder,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 24, 1979.

235
Payton spoke optimistically of better days
: Ibid.

235
In the summer of 1980 the team moved
: Bob Logan, “Title thoughts dominate Bear camp opening,”
Chicago Tribune
, July 26, 1980.

237
“If I never face another defense like them”
: Verdi, “Bears seem to be in prevent offense,”
Chicago Tribune
, November 4, 1980.

237
“A resoundingly innovative”:
Ibid.

238
He was named after a character
: Bob Herguth, “Off and running with Payton,”
Chicago Sun-Times
, August 11, 1996.

238
“My son brought me tremendous joy”
: Payton and Yaeger,
Never Die Easy
, 198.

240
“I talked to a lot of clubs, just social”
: George Vecsey, “Walter Payton Fits in Chicago,”
The New York Times
, July 28, 1981.

240
When Holmes told the
Tribune
Payton would
: Pierson, “Payton won’t get $1 million: Halas,”
Chicago Tribune
, February 3, 1981.

240
Under the new ownership of a
: Pierson, “I’ve made offer to Payton—Montreal owner,”
Chicago Tribune
, May 1, 1981.

242
“Pay me eight hundred thousand dollars”
: Pierson, “Too often, Payton finds Bear linemen blocking his way,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 27, 1981.

242
The following week, after gaining forty-five yards
: Paul Zimmerman, “He Can Run, But He Can’t Hide,”
Sports Illustrated
, August 16, 1982.

242
Jerry Kirshenbaum, the editor of
Sports Illustrated
’s Scorecard section
: Jerry Kirshenbaum, “Mush!”
Sports Illustrated
, December 28, 1981.

242
After paying $58.40 for two tickets
: Laura Garraway, “Fan can’t ‘Bear’ Chicago’s charade,”
New York Post
, October 13, 1981.

243
“Maybe Walter’s best years are behind him”
: Pierson, “If new Payton plan catches on, he’ll run less, enjoy it more,”
Chicago Tribune
, October 11, 1981.

CHAPTER 17

244
So it was that one day
: Mike Ditka with Don Pierson
, Ditka: An Autobiography
(Chicago: Bonus Books, 1986), 156.

245
Once asked by
Sports Illustrated’
s Curry Kirkpatrick
: Curry Kirkpatrick, “Once a Bear, Always a Bear,”
Sports Illustrated
, December 16, 1985.

245
He was born on October 18, 1939
: Ibid.

245
“We played sports day and night”
: Ditka and Pierson,
Ditka
, 47.

246
“My whole life was based on beating”
: Pierson, “Ditka: The coach who hates to lose,”
Chicago Tribune
, November 17, 1985.

246
“Pound for pound, Mike was as tough”
: Pat Livingston, “Mike Ditka, His Career at Pitt,”
Sports Illustrated
, October 31, 1985.

246
In 1962, the editors of
Look
magazine
: Tim Cohane, “Pain can’t stop a pro,”
Look
, December 4, 1962.

247
“Are you a member of the Fellowship”
: Kirkpatrick, “Once a Bear, Always a Bear,”
Sports Illustrated
, December 16, 1985.

247
On January 20, 1982, two weeks after
: Husar, “Ditka may bring in Dallas offensive aides,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 21, 1982.

248
In a blistering piece titled “Hiring Ditka Would Be Madness”
: John Schulian, “Hiring Ditka Would be Madness,”
The Sporting News
, January 30, 1982.

248
“It’s been a tough year physically”
: Sharon Stangenes, “Good intentions,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 4, 1982.

249
According to the
Tribune
, the team was strongly
: Pierson, “Another Walter tempts Bears as No. 1 pick,”
Chicago Tribune
, April 11, 1982.

250
“I don’t know where he is”
: Pierson, “Ditka unloads on AWOL Watts,”
Chicago Tribune
, May 28, 1982.

251
Noah Jackson, the overweight
: Zimmerman, “He Can Run, But He Can’t Hide,”
Sports Illustrated
, August 16, 1982.

251
“I don’t know how long I can play”
: Pierson, “’Same old story’ has Payton upset,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 5, 1982.

252
“I feel like I’ve been on a free ride”
: Ibid.

253
Payton addressed the media, accusing
: Pierson, “Bears star at private party,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 6, 1982.

253
“I’m happy we won,” he said
: Steve Daley, “Walter’s ‘problem’ has Bears on run,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 6, 1982.

254
“It’s unfortunate”
: Pierson, “Bears’ pass-run rift hasn’t healed yet,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 7, 1982.

254
“There’s no problem at all”
: “Ditka, Payton talk it over,”
Chicago Tribune
, December 10, 1982.

CHAPTER 18

258
Oftentimes, Payton merely covered his head
: McGrane,
Sweetness
, 10.

258
“Dad messed up a couple of couches”
: Jarret Payton,
The Jarrett Payton Show
, Chicagoland Sports Radio, November 1, 2010.

263
“I took a lot of pride in my cars”
: Payton and Yaeger,
Never Die Easy
, 161.

263
His CB handle was Mississippi Maniac
: Pierson, “The Reason Sports Provide Such Dramatic Material is That The Climax Comes So Early in a Man’s Life, the Decline So Swiftly,”
Chicago Tribune
, November 7, 1999.

266
When a reader wrote the
Tribune: Pierson, “Jim Brown the reason Payton ran,”
Chicago Tribune
, October 7, 1983.

266
“I’d rather turn back the eleven thousand”
: Pierson, “Bears mistakes pile up,”
Chicago Tribune
, November 7, 1983.

267–268
Which was why, on January 10, 1984
: Pierson, “Blitz offers Payton $6 million,”
Chicago Tribune
, January 11, 1984.

268
Michael McCaskey, the Bears’ new president
: Robert McG. Thomas Jr., “Payton Weighs $6 Million Offer,”
The New York Times
, January 12, 1984.

270
Impeccably dressed and mildly tempered
: Pierson, “Payton keeps ’em guessing,”
Chicago Tribune
, February 7, 1984.

270
“I have a great deal of respect for Franco”
: Pierson, “Walter will pass Franco quietly,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 20, 1984.

270
“Gaining a thousand yards in a fourteen-game season”
: Bob Greene, “For the record: Go, Jim Brown, go!”
Chicago Tribune
, November 23, 1983.

271
Now being held at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville
: “ ‘Nobody Awes this Football Team,’ ”
Chicago Tribune
, January 4, 1985.

271
In the lead-up to 1984, however, Payton
: Pierson, “Payton,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 2, 1984.

272
“Sometimes a seed has to be planted”
: Kevin Lamb, “Bears Try to Avoid Another Slow Start,”
The Sporting News
, September 10, 1984.

273
“They’re a bullshit team”
: Telander, “On Top of The Pack,”
Sports Illustrated
, September 24, 1984.

273
Harris led Payton by thirty-four yards
: Pierson, “Walter will pass Franco quietly,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 20, 1984.

274
“As far as I’m concerned”
: Bernie Lincicome, “Payton has only Brown left to chase,”
Chicago Tribune
, September 24, 1984.

274
The Seahawks released Harris
: Pat Mealey, “Franco Harris Mum On Release By NFL Seahawks,”
Jet
, November 26, 1984.

274
In fact, Payton never even viewed footage of Brown
: Telander, “On Top of The Pack,”
Sports Illustrated
, September 24, 1984.

275
“There were a lot of people that hated Ali”
: Mike Freeman,
Jim Brown: The Fierce Life of an American Hero
(New York: Harper, 2006), 175.

275
“My feeling is you’re a sportsman”
: Smith, “Only his record will fall,”
Chicago Tribune
, October 7, 1984.

276
When asked by Michael Janofsky of
: Michael Janofsky, “Payton: Team Player On the Move,”
The New York Times
, October 7, 1984.

276
His game pants, meanwhile, were nothing
: McGrane,
Sweetness
, 13.

279
Moments later, Payton accepted a call
: Janofsky, “Call From Reagan Caps Payton’s Day,”
The New York Times
, October 9, 1984.

CHAPTER 19

280–81
“It’s like a boxer”
: Steve Delsohn
, Da Bears!
(New York: Crown Archetype, 2010), 1.

281
Shelby Jordan, the Raiders’ offensive tackle
: Rollow, “Raiders snarl back from locker room,”
Chicago Tribune
, November 5, 1984.

282
As he walked off the Metrodome turf
: Pierson, “A 1st for Bears,”
Chicago Tribune
, November 26, 1984.

282
The lifespan of an NFL running back
: John DeShazier, “New Orleans Saints backup running backs hurt Pierre Thomas’ chances of getting paid,”
The Times-Picayune
(New Orleans), August 24, 2010.