Chicago drafted Walter Payton out of Jackson State in 1975, fourth overall. In his second season, 1976, he ran for 1,390 yards, the most in the National Football Conference, and was named first-team All-Pro for the first time.
Topps's 1977 set, 528 cards, marked both. Across the top, BEARS waves on a yellow banner with a small RB football beside it, and WALTER PAYTON beneath; below that, a bar reads 1976 NFC ALL-PRO. In the lower corner, a black football carries the words 1000 YARDER, given to the players who reached a thousand yards the season before.
Two badges on one card: the All-Pro bar and the thousand-yard football.
Between them is Payton himself, in the navy jersey, number 34, smiling. It is a crowded card, and an affectionate one.
The team logos are kept out of the picture, as they were throughout the set. There is also a Mexican edition of the 1977 set, with the backs in Spanish, which is far scarcer than the American one.
The season this card was sold, Payton ran for 1,852 yards and was the league's Most Valuable Player.
