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Never Die Easy: The Autobiography of Walter Payton

walter payton don yaeger

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"Never die easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries into all facets of your life. It's okay to lose, to die, but don't die without trying, without giving it your best."

His legacy is towering. Walter Payton—the man they called Sweetness, for the way he ran—remains the most prolific running back in the history of the National Football League, the star of the Chicago Bears' only Super Bowl Championship, eleven times voted the most popular sports figure in Chicago's history. Off the field, he was a devoted father whose charitable foundation benefited tens of thousands of children each year, and who—faced with terminal liver disease—refused to use his celebrity to gain a preferential position for organ donation. Walter Payton was not just a football hero; he was America's hero.
         Never Die Easy is Walter Payton's autobiography, told from the heart. Growing up poor in Mississippi, he took up football to get girls' attention, and went on to become a Black College All-American at tiny Jackson State (during which time he was also a finalist in a Soul Train dance contest). Drafted by the Bears in 1975, he predicted that he would last only five years but went on to play thirteen extraordinary seasons, a career earning him regular acknowledgment as one of the greatest players in the history of professional football. And when his playing days were over, he approached business and charity endeavors with the same determination and success he had brought to the football field, always putting first his devotion to friends and family. His ultimate battle with illness truly proved him the champion he always had been and prompted a staggering outpouring of love and support from hundreds of thousands of friends and admirers.
        Written with veteran journalist and author Don Yaeger in the last weeks of Walter Payton's life, Never Die Easy presents Walter's singular voice—warm, plainspoken, funny, self-aware—along with the voices of the friends, family, teammates, and business associates who knew him best at all stages of his life, including his wife, Connie, and their children, Brittney and Jarrett; his teammate and friend Matt Suhey; former Bears head coach Mike Ditka; and many, many others.
        Walter made Don Yaeger promise that his book would be "inspirational and leave people with some kind of lesson . . . and make sure you spell all the words right." Never Die Easy keeps all those promises.

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2000

This edition

Format
296 pages, Paperback
Published
September 11, 2001 by Random House Publishing Group
ISBN
9780375758218
ASIN
0375758216
Language
English

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walter payton

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Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
37(37%)
4 stars
33(33%)
3 stars
30(30%)
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0(0%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
EriSativa
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Walter Payton and Don Yaeger did a very good job writing this book. I love how it explains that back then, the players didn’t play for the money or the fame they played because they love the game. I also enjoyed how they talked about Payton’s point of view on the whole racial concept at that time. This is a very powerful and interesting book about Walter Payton and all of his achievements and good deeds he did in his life. It also gets sad towards the end so beware of that but it is a good touch the story. So if you are a football fan or any sports fan this is a very good book to read for you.
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taiyokami
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Poorly written. I am not sure who did the editing but I would fire. The story was good of course but not exactly written in humility either. I give it at 3 star just because it is Sweetness but would probably say a 2 more likely.
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dade2626
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This book was very inspirational. This book pushes you to become a better person and a better athlete. His life was based on giving and never turning his back on other people. The story is about how Walter Payton's life effected everyone eleses around him. I chose to read this book because I like Walter Payton as a player and never really looked to see how he was while he was living and after he retired.
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Doutei-kun
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Poorly written and put together, a lot of repetition! Thought it was candy coated, and did not touch on the man rather the game! I thought the biography written by a writer came closer to tell a story of the man!
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rebmastu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Never Die Easy is an amazing book about the life of Walter Payton. The story tells about his childhood, high school, college, pro career, and after his pro career. The book even goes into the perspectives of some of Walter Payton's closest friends.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves football and people who wants to learn about Walter Payton. This is a great book and I think just about every football fan would enjoy it.
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Ca7chi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I just think this book did a good job of showing what was so inspiring about Walter Payton as a person and an athlete. But it made him a real person as well. It gave quite a bit of insight into how he felt and thought about all that happened with his career and his illness. A must read for any Chicago Bears fan.
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Cludensyo
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Good insight to the man that Walter Payton was. My husband is a huge fan & had me read this book so that I could understand why.
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Sara2cena
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Never Die Easy was a great book about Walter Payton and how he became one of the best running backs to ever play the game. It also tells about the teams life and his when he was on the Chicago Bears. I really liked it because he was a great running back.
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