Brian Damage
09-16-2009, 06:48 PM
Ten years after his death at 45, his family and friends remain equally determined to have a statue of Payton placed just outside Soldier Field.
For weeks, they have been involved in talks with the Chicago Park District. But thus far, they have gained no ground.
According to a Payton family spokeswoman, park district officials explained that Soldier Field and the area surrounding it is to be preserved strictly as a memorial to war veterans. There also is concern a Payton statue outside of Soldier Field might diminish the stature of other former Bears Hall of Famers.
The park district, which oversees Soldier Field and its grounds, reportedly offered to have the statue placed at any other Chicago park.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White helped Connie Payton-Strotter, Walter's widow, and her publicist, Kelly Woods, by arranging a meeting with park district officials. Attempts to reach park district general superintendent and CEO Tim Mitchell were unsuccessful Tuesday.
On Monday, the Payton family met with Bears representatives to see if they could help persuade the park district to agree to their plan. The family spokeswoman said the Bears have been cooperative and they are hopeful an agreement can be hashed out soon.
On Wednesday, Bears matriarch Virginia McCaskey, the daughter of Bears founder and NFL pioneer George Halas, is expected to be involved in further discussions.
The bronze statue, being constructed in Wasilla, Alaska, with a foundry in Utah, will be slightly larger than 6 feet tall and life size. The base will be about 5 to 6 feet tall. The sculptor is Stan Watts, who specializes in life-size bronzes.
The family's plan is to unveil the work and donate it to the city on Nov. 7. Walter Payton died on Nov. 1, 1999, from complications of liver cancer.
The base of the statue worth approximately $25,000 is being donated by Bob Olson, president of Terrazzo and Marble Supply in Wheeling.
"It was a favor for Connie. She asked me if we would be willing to do that," Olson said. "We are in the marble and granite business, obviously, but more in the area of kitchen counter tops and vanity tops in bathrooms and tile. We have been around since 1947, but we have never done a base for a statue before.
"I have known Connie for a long time. I knew Walter. And just out of respect to the family, Terrazzo Marble has donated to the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation in the past. We've sponsored golf tournaments over the last several years. I just felt that [the base of the statue] was a good place to donate some money.
"Connie asked me three or four months ago if that was something we could see our way clear to do. We did some checking and decided to do it.
"I would hope that we could convince ... whoever is making the decision ... this is not ... going to be an eyesore. This is a beautiful statue with beautiful granite. It just amazes me that there is even a question about it."
For several months, the Payton family has been planning to have a special Walter Payton weekend around the anniversary of his death.
Matt Suhey, Payton's teammate and good friend, spent a great deal of time with him during his final days.
"It certainly was an emotional time and a struggle for him. As tough as he was and as mentally tough as he was ... it is really a debilitating disease. It's awful, awful," Suhey said. "I really haven't talked [publicly] about it. He wanted his privacy so much. And he wanted to fight this thing the way he wanted to fight it. He was extremely popular and open to everybody, yet he kept his privacy pretty well on this [cancer battle]."
Suhey, who played fullback on the Super Bowl XX champion Bears, praised the Bears' organization for trying to get the statue placed outside of Soldier Field.
"The Bears have been great," Suhey said. Several years ago, the Bears unveiled a dramatic 26 1/2 -foot tall granite bas-relief sculpture, depicting a timeline describing Halas' contribution to professional football and the history of the Bears. It is located inside Soldier Field's Bear Den, in the west concourse.
Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus attended that unveiling ceremony. Family members of the other six Bears legends highlighted on the 11,500-pound memorial also were in attendance, representing Payton, Mike Singletary, Bill George, Sid Luckman, Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski.
One former Bears Hall of Famer whose likeness is not on the sculpture is Mike Ditka, who had feuded with the McCaskey family.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-16-walter-payton-statue-sep16,0,3208115.story
For weeks, they have been involved in talks with the Chicago Park District. But thus far, they have gained no ground.
According to a Payton family spokeswoman, park district officials explained that Soldier Field and the area surrounding it is to be preserved strictly as a memorial to war veterans. There also is concern a Payton statue outside of Soldier Field might diminish the stature of other former Bears Hall of Famers.
The park district, which oversees Soldier Field and its grounds, reportedly offered to have the statue placed at any other Chicago park.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White helped Connie Payton-Strotter, Walter's widow, and her publicist, Kelly Woods, by arranging a meeting with park district officials. Attempts to reach park district general superintendent and CEO Tim Mitchell were unsuccessful Tuesday.
On Monday, the Payton family met with Bears representatives to see if they could help persuade the park district to agree to their plan. The family spokeswoman said the Bears have been cooperative and they are hopeful an agreement can be hashed out soon.
On Wednesday, Bears matriarch Virginia McCaskey, the daughter of Bears founder and NFL pioneer George Halas, is expected to be involved in further discussions.
The bronze statue, being constructed in Wasilla, Alaska, with a foundry in Utah, will be slightly larger than 6 feet tall and life size. The base will be about 5 to 6 feet tall. The sculptor is Stan Watts, who specializes in life-size bronzes.
The family's plan is to unveil the work and donate it to the city on Nov. 7. Walter Payton died on Nov. 1, 1999, from complications of liver cancer.
The base of the statue worth approximately $25,000 is being donated by Bob Olson, president of Terrazzo and Marble Supply in Wheeling.
"It was a favor for Connie. She asked me if we would be willing to do that," Olson said. "We are in the marble and granite business, obviously, but more in the area of kitchen counter tops and vanity tops in bathrooms and tile. We have been around since 1947, but we have never done a base for a statue before.
"I have known Connie for a long time. I knew Walter. And just out of respect to the family, Terrazzo Marble has donated to the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation in the past. We've sponsored golf tournaments over the last several years. I just felt that [the base of the statue] was a good place to donate some money.
"Connie asked me three or four months ago if that was something we could see our way clear to do. We did some checking and decided to do it.
"I would hope that we could convince ... whoever is making the decision ... this is not ... going to be an eyesore. This is a beautiful statue with beautiful granite. It just amazes me that there is even a question about it."
For several months, the Payton family has been planning to have a special Walter Payton weekend around the anniversary of his death.
Matt Suhey, Payton's teammate and good friend, spent a great deal of time with him during his final days.
"It certainly was an emotional time and a struggle for him. As tough as he was and as mentally tough as he was ... it is really a debilitating disease. It's awful, awful," Suhey said. "I really haven't talked [publicly] about it. He wanted his privacy so much. And he wanted to fight this thing the way he wanted to fight it. He was extremely popular and open to everybody, yet he kept his privacy pretty well on this [cancer battle]."
Suhey, who played fullback on the Super Bowl XX champion Bears, praised the Bears' organization for trying to get the statue placed outside of Soldier Field.
"The Bears have been great," Suhey said. Several years ago, the Bears unveiled a dramatic 26 1/2 -foot tall granite bas-relief sculpture, depicting a timeline describing Halas' contribution to professional football and the history of the Bears. It is located inside Soldier Field's Bear Den, in the west concourse.
Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus attended that unveiling ceremony. Family members of the other six Bears legends highlighted on the 11,500-pound memorial also were in attendance, representing Payton, Mike Singletary, Bill George, Sid Luckman, Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski.
One former Bears Hall of Famer whose likeness is not on the sculpture is Mike Ditka, who had feuded with the McCaskey family.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-16-walter-payton-statue-sep16,0,3208115.story