📍Columbia, Mississippi, USA
1954 – 1971“I was born in Columbia, Mississippi, in July 1954, the son of Peter Payton, a factory worker, and my mother, Alyne. Columbia was a small town on the Pearl River in the piney woods of southern Mississippi, and our neighbourhood, close to the river and the factories, was a kid's paradise: woods to explore, fields to run in and a river to swim in. A block from home was the John J. Jefferson School, the segregated school for all of Columbia's Black children. At first my great love wasn't sport but music. I played the drums in the school band, I could play the piano, and I loved to dance. I stayed out of football because my older brother, Eddie, was the star running back, and I didn't want my mother worrying about both of us getting hurt. When Eddie graduated, the football coach asked me to try out, and I agreed only if I could stay in the band. I was a Boy Scout, I sang in our church, and I ran track and played baseball and basketball too. In 1969 Jefferson was merged with the all-white Columbia High School, and in my first game for the newly integrated team I scored on long touchdown runs, which helped to ease tensions in the town. I went to Jackson State University, and in 1975 the Chicago Bears drafted me. They called me Sweetness, and I became the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Columbia has never forgotten me, and the town calls me its crown jewel.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today