American Football: NFL mourns loss of Walter `Sweetness' Payton

BEFORE THE Seattle Seahawks played Green Bay on Monday, there was a moment of silence at Lambeau Field in honour of the legendary Chicago Bears running-back, Walter Payton, who died on Monday at the age of 45 after suffering from a rare liver disease. Payton had been on a waiting list for a transplant, but his condition was so bad that it led to cancer which made him unsuitable for such surgery.

The NFL's all-time leading rusher, who was nicknamed "Sweetness" for his graceful moves as well as his generous nature, was a great player on a bad team for most of his career. But in 1986 he led Chicago to their only Super Bowl triumph - a club which included the likes of William "The Refrigerator" Perry. "Walter was an inspiration in everything he did. The tremendous grace and dignity he displayed in his final months reminded us again why `Sweetness' was the perfect nickname for Walter Payton," said the NFL Commissioner, Paul Tagliabue.

"He was the best football player I've ever seen and probably one of the best people I've ever met," said Mike Ditka, Payton's coach for six years, who is now in charge of the New Orleans Saints. "He had a greater impact on my life than I had on his."

"He was the kind of individual that if you were down, he would not let you stay down," said the former Bears linebacker Mike Singletary.

Payton, who retired in 1987, missed just one game in his 13-year Hall of Fame career. His 16,726 rushing yards are still the most in the history of the game.

Besides primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease that causes the body's immune system to attack its own tissues, Payton had cancer of the bile duct. Dr Greg Gores, who was treating Payton, said the cancer killed the star. Gores would not say when Payton learned he had cancer, but specialists have speculated that he knew at the time he announced he would need a transplant.