When Walter Payton passed away on Monday, those who knew the Hall of Fame running back praised his magnetic personality as much as his unbelievable on-the-field exploits. On a special Up Close with Gary Miller, Vince Evans, Tony Dorsett and Mike Ditka all reminisced about the NFL's all-time rushing leader. An edited transcript of the interviews follows.

Vince Evans
Miller: How did you first hear about your friend Walter Payton dying?

Evans: Gary, I was in a meeting at my office yesterday and I saw my secretary walk by the door a couple of times, looking like she wanted to come in and interrupt the meeting but she didn't. So shortly after the meeting had concluded, I came out of my office and went back into my office and one of my associates had indicated that my secretary was looking for me. When I found her she had indicated that another network had wanted to interview me because Walter Payton had died. Immediately my reaction was, my heart just dropped. It was like, I was so unbelievably saddened. I just went back to my office and sat there and tears were flowing down my face because this was a very, very special human being. I just had so many fond, fond memories of Walter and the impact that he had on my life and many other people who had the golden opportunity to be a part of his life.

Miller: You played with him from 1977-1982 and you were there on the field with him in 1977 in the game against the Vikings in which he ran for 275 yards. What is your recollection of that day?

Evans: That day was very, very special for us as an organization. You have to understand that, during those years when Walter first got there until 1983, when I left he was definitely the center of all of Chicago. He was such a great, great football player and in that particular game he rushed for 275 yards. I'll never forget that he came over to me after his last run and he said to me, and this shows the sensitivity that he had, and he says "Do you think I did OK?" I'm like, "W.P., you just rushed for 275, you did great, man!" He was just the consummate professional. Nothing was ever good enough, he always thought that he could get better. A better block, a better run, a better pass receiver. He was just always trying to get better.

Miller: What was he like in the locker room?

Evans: (chuckles). You always kept your head on a swivel because you never knew exactly what Walter was going to be doing next. Most of the guys who were taking showers after practice or after games would always back into the shower looking for Walter because he'd take this towel and he would wet it and sort of rap it around and then pop you in the behind and I'll tell you, it really, really hurt, man (laughing). He was always up to something and the reason why I think he did that, Gary, was because he always wanted to keep everybody involved, everybody loose. He said, "I had more fun than anybody who ever played the game," and Walter really did, it was on and off the field without a doubt.

Miller: The guy was well known as a dancer, actually appeared on Soul Train before he even played at Jackson State.

Evans: He would always have music going in the locker room, and you thought he put on a show on the football field. I mean the man could dance! He could really shake a leg (laughing)! We were there just like rooting him on because he had these unbelievable moves. There was good reason that they called him "Sweetness".

Tony Dorsett
Miller: When they gather all of the great, great running backs together and you think about Walter Payton, how does he fit in with all you guys?

Dorsett: First of all, the great competitor that Walter was, I've never seen a guy, from a running back position, run the ball in a manner in which Walter ran the ball. Not only was he sweet but Walter was a very physical running back. I admired not only that, but Walter was probably one of the most well-conditioned athletes of this century.

Miller: What about his ex-teammates? Did they have a feeling that this day was coming soon?

Dorsett: Oh, yeah. I talked with Richard Dent and Jim McMahon. The guys were saying it could pretty much be any day now. Jim was saying that he was going to go by and see Walter the early part of last week. He said, "The unfortunate thing is it may be the last time that I see him." And that's something that those guys have a better feel for then we did (the general public), and rightfully so. Those guys are in touch with it. And we, as the general public, didn't need to know a whole lot about what was going on with Walter but just hoping for the best with him.

Miller: How did you find out about Walter Payton passing away?

Dorsett: I was coming home yesterday, Monday. I was coming back from Tennessee. I was just down for the weekend watching my son, he plays for the Titans, beat up on the Rams. I was driving down the freeway from the airport and I got a call on my cell phone. A friend of mine said, "Did you hear about, Walter?" Right then and there my heart just dropped. I just became very quiet. It was just a really strange feeling. I was really in a daze for most of the day yesterday. As a matter of fact, I said to myself, "I better just go home because I really was not paying attention to what I was doing out there driving." My mind and my thoughts were so much towards Walter and his family. I thought the best thing for me to do was just come home and sit down and just think about it.

Miller: What about when you saw his son, Jarrett, who had to leave the University of Miami team to be with his father, knowing last week that this was coming and what he did on Monday?

Dorsett: What a great kid! He speaks in volumes for Walter Payton the parent to see Jarrett get up at that press conference and read the statement - and stay composed and his composure was just unbelievable. To see this young man at that age, probably the saddest day of his life, and get up there and keep his composure in the manner in which he did, I just thought that was just a great reflection on Walter Payton.

Miller: You played with Payton in the Pro Bowls in '78 and '81. What's Walter like in the Pro Bowl environment?

Dorsett: Walter, you see this big smile on my face. That's what Walter does. He's a practical joker. I haven't met a person that had anything negative to say about Walter Payton the person. Walter is just a great guy and fun-loving guy. You know Walter, he lost a lot of games, but he won a lot of battles. It's just unfortunate with this battle of life, he just couldn't win this one. My heart goes out to Connie and the family, and I'm just wishing them all the best. I know Walter, right now, is in a better place. I didn't know until yesterday that he had some cancer. I am just hoping that he didn't suffer. Again, he's a great guy and he's going to be dearly missed.

Miller: Did you see any difference in a Walter Payton game, in which the Bears were going to win two or three games in a year, and then that 15-1 year when they beat you 44-0?

Dorsett: Payback is a "B." You know, Walter Payton was always a true champion. Every time he stepped out on the field, he gave you 100 percent. It never changed from his rookie year to the day he retired. Walter Payton, regardless in his early years, it was all Walter. The amazing thing about that, just to show you what kind of competitor that he was, everybody, every team, and everyone in the National Football League knew what the Chicago Bears were going to do and that was to hand the ball to Walter Payton. And yet, he still kept getting these yards, year-in, year-out, game-in, and game-out.

Miller: It says a lot about Walter Payton, that a guy who is right there, chasing him in the record books, doesn't have a jealous thing to say about Walter Payton.

Dorsett: Let me tell you something. Walter Payton had a lot to do with Tony Dorsett being in the Hall of Fame. There was that friendly competition. I always paid attention to what Walter Payton was doing up there in Chicago. Every time Walter did well, all that did was motivate me to want to step out there on the field and do just as good or better. So, a special thanks to Walter.

Mike Ditka
Miller: With the loss of Joe DiMaggio, Wilt Chamberlain, Payne Stewart, Walter Payton and others, what kind of year has 1999 been for the sports world?

Ditka: Well, I'll tell you what, the sports world lost some of its greatest people this year, there's no question about it. The greatest people, not only on their playing field, but off their playing field. I think the people you talked about are not only great athletes, but great people. Walter, to me, was such a role model of what a modern day athlete should look for in life. He played the game with a passion and he lived with a great passion. He had a great love for people. I don't know, there are too many adjectives to describe him. "Sweetness" is probably as close as you're going to come because he was totally that.

Miller: Do you think there was any destiny to the fact that you ended up coaching the Bears and working with Walter?

Ditka: To answer your question, I believe that I went to Chicago for a reason, just as Walter Payton was meant to be a Chicago Bear. I don't think he was meant to be a Dallas Cowboy or a Denver Bronco. He was meant to be a Chicago Bear and he was the greatest of all the Bears. I think I was meant to go there. That was part of my life - I think God has a plan for all of us and I believe in the plan. It's like I was supposed to be here in New Orleans. I don't question that. I'm supposed to be here. I believe that. I watched Walter as an assistant coach and used to marvel at watching the tapes on him. You say, "Geez, he can't be that good!" And then when you got to meet him and see him in person and be around him daily, then you realized he was so much better then you ever thought he was, because all you saw was the image of a person playing football. You didn't see the person up close. You didn't see what made him tick. And once you saw what made him tick, it was really a beautiful thing.

Miller: As a coach, when you see his incredible runs, knocking guys over, keeping going, and leaping into end zones, I would imagine the blocks that he threw were as impressive to you as anything.

Ditka: I think there were a lot of coaches in the league that marveled at him. They used to use him as an example of how to block. I don't know if I have ever seen anybody pick up a linebacker any better than he did, a blitzing linebacker. One of the great things was Thursday night, up in Minnesota, the year we won the championship, when Jim (McMahon) was hurt and came in the game late, first play we had a play called and they came with the blitz. Walter came off his assignment to get a piece of the linebacker and let Jim get the ball off and of course he threw a touchdown to (Willie) Gault. We went on to win that game, but if he doesn't get that linebacker, Jim doesn't get that ball off, and as a matter of fact, he might get hit from the blind side and fumble it. He was, without a question, the best blocking back I have ever seen.

Miller: Talk about his versatility. In 1984 McMahon gets hurt, you go through a handful of quarterbacks and Walter Payton ends up quarterbacking for you.

Ditka: He did, and we put a formation in, like the old single wing in what we call a shotgun look. We put Walter back there and we ran the ball on both sides, up the middle. Then we even actually had a couple passes in there from him. Actually, the game that he played in, was a game in Soldier Field, where it was so doggone cold. It was pretty hard to do anything more than run the ball. We were just trying to get the game over, more than anything, but we didn't have any quarterbacks. It wasn't like we were trying to do something stupid. He was the best athlete on our football team. There was no reason why he shouldnt play quarterback.

Miller: He ended up throwing 8 TD passes, a couple of them that year.

Ditka: Well, he loved that halfback pass. The greatest one was the one he threw back to McMahon. I think he did that twice, but that was pure. The ball was dead on the money. Jim was on a dead run and the ball hit him in stride and he never broke stride at what had to be a magic catch. He threw it better than most quarterbacks would have thrown it.

Miller: In 1985, you went to the Super Bowl. They talk about it to this day, that he didn't get into the end zone that game and that William "The Refrigerator" Perry did.

Ditka: That's something that you don't think about during a game as a coach. I didn't, anyway. Maybe that's just because I'm not smart enough to think about those things. You get so wrapped up in winning, and we had certain plays on the goal line, and some of them were for Walter to carry the ball. I don't think we were on the goal line that much. I think we scored from outside the goal line except the one time, if I remember correctly, when Perry scored, so, it's something that I tremendously regret, because the greatest football player that ever lived, to have played and won a Super Bowl, not to have scored a touchdown: I think that's kind of a no-no.

Miller: What was Walter like during the parade, immersed in that championship atmosphere?

Ditka: I think Walter was the consummate team player. I don't think he ever rose above the team. As a matter of fact, I think he put the team above him. That's what made him so special. I think the camaraderie and the feeling that those guys had in '85, that team, for each other, was something that was very hard to duplicate. I don't know if I've ever seen it duplicated. We tried to duplicate it a couple of years after that. It was one for all and all for one. Once you get that, you're going to the wall for your teammate, whoever it is. You may not agree with everything he does, you may not love him totally, but you respect him and you're going to the wall for him. I think that's what Walter brought to us. I think he made us understand that's the only way we could win. He helped solidify a team when I got there, there was strictly an offense and a defense. They were split. I think he helped solidify that, because he was the glue that held that team together. He made those guys respect the offense and, of course, the offense respect the defense. Therefore, we finally became a football team.