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'I thought he was the greatest' Franco Harris saddened by Payton death
Posted: Monday November 01, 1999 08:44 PM
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- In an NFL commercial he filmed recently, Franco Harris was asked to reminisce about a running back who was his contemporary. Naturally, he chose Walter Payton. That's why Harris was especially shocked and saddened to learn Monday of Payton's death, one he found as difficult to accept as he did to understand. "As far as I'm concerned, I thought he was the greatest," Harris said, minutes after former Colts running back Lydell Mitchell phoned with the news. "With the teams he played on, and what he did, missing only one or two games his whole career ... and he was a great guy." Payton relied on terrific moves and speed to gain an NFL-record 16,726 yards during his 13-year career from 1975-87. Harris, whose slashing, deceptive style contrasted to Payton's, ranks eighth with 12,120 yards, also in 13 seasons from 1972-84. "We had different styles, but I always enjoyed watching him, the way he ran and the way he played the game," Harris said. "There's no doubt about it, he did it all, running, pass receiving and catching. He was the type of guy who made things happen." They played in different conferences, so Harris and Payton rarely opposed each other, especially in the playoffs, which the Steelers usually made and Payton's Bears usually missed. But they often met at off-season functions, and Harris found Payton to be engaging and entertaining. "He was just a good guy, always an enjoyable person," Harris said. Wasn't it only a few months ago, Harris thought, that he picked up a newspaper each Monday to read about Payton's latest 150-yard game or latest record, then picked up a pen to pass along his congratulations? Harris paused, gathered his thoughts, then said: "This is unbelievable. I just didn't expect to hear this news today. We all knew he was sick, and I recently wrote him a note, to say hi and ask if I could do anything. I didn't know how sick he really was. I didn't think that death was around the corner. "I'm just very sad about this." Harris heard the news within a week of the day the 1974 Steelers reunited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the franchise's first Super Bowl championship team, which came in Harris' third NFL season. "It brought back nice memories, but we all do realize that time has gone by, and it's hard to believe that it was 25 years ago," said Harris, whose 11,950 yards with Pittsburgh are nearly three times as many as any other player in team history. "I'm just shaking my head. To hear this today? Whew."
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