Few in football appreciate football history as much as Bill Belichick. The head coach turned analyst for the season is sharing that love on The CW’s Inside the NFL, sharing his weekly insights on the league throughout the season. Before looking ahead to 2024, Belichick chose to look back at one of football’s legends, RB Walter Payton.
As shared by the NFL Films Twitter account, Belichick and former Steelers safety Ryan Clark (now the show’s host) watched highlights of Payton playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1975 College All-Star Game. For context, as is explained in the video, there used to be a game between the best college players and the defending Super Bowl champions. In this case, the Steelers were coming off their first of four titles during the 70s, meaning Jack Lambert, Terry Bradshaw, and company played against the top college picks.
Belichick breaks down Payton, dazzling as even Lambert had trouble bringing him down.
Awesome and rare footage of Payton, a legend, before he officially became one. Before he dominated the NFL, Payton did the same at Jackson State. There, he became a two-time All-American with over 3,500 career rushing yards and a blistering 6.1 yards per carry. He left as the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader with 464 points. The Chicago Bears made him the fourth overall selection of the 1975 NFL Draft, where he’d go on to have a Hall of Fame career.
The game between the All-Stars and Steelers occurred on Aug. 1, 1975. Previous iterations were blowouts in the professional’s favor, but with a stacked ’75 class that included three Hall of Famers in the top six picks (Randy White, Robert Brazile, and Payton), Pittsburgh narrowly won, 21-14. Over 54,000 fans attended to watch the Steelers put on a fourth quarter comeback, Bradshaw benched for Joe Gilliam who threw touchdown passes to FB Rocky Bleier and WR Frank Lewis to put Pittsburgh on top.
It would be one of the final All-Star games ever to be played. As noted in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article recapping the ’75 edition, owners were already trying to cancel the event. In part due to injuries in what was a meaningless contest. In this game, Bengals’ fifth-round pick P/WR Pat McInally (yes, he played both) broke his leg and missed his entire rookie year, though he’d return in 1976 to have a successful career. The 1976 version would be the final game, with a monsoon canceling the game late in the third quarter, with Pittsburgh ahead 24-0.
It’s an event that will only live in memories and footage that Belichick talked through during the show. It’s an awesome view of football’s best running back of the era versus its best defense. If you want to see more highlights, you can check them out here.
