Trent Lott: “Walter Payton was the pride of Columbia, MS. He died all too early this past Monday at the age of 45 years--too young…”

“Walter Payton was the pride of Columbia, MS. He died all too early this past Monday at the age of 45 years--too young for a person of such integrity, ability, and generosity. The Clarion Ledger newspaper of my home State this morning wrote a magnificent article about him. It said Walter Payton amazed his Mississippi teammates with his kindness almost as often as he dazzled them with his ability. They tell of a man who studied audiology in college after playing high school football with a deaf friend. That told a lot about the early life of this outstanding young man, and it is the kind of life he lived until his final day this past Monday. Surprisingly, the man who would become a great football player did not even try out for football until his junior year in high school, choosing instead to play drums in the high school band. But he learned the game of football as fast as he could run, and long before the Nation had heard of the Chicago Bear named 'Sweetness,' Mississippians were cheering a Jefferson High superhero they called 'Spiderman' and a Jackson State Tiger known as Walter.”