Bob Thomas' 10-year career with the Bears was over in August 1984. He had been cut, and Kevin Butler would succeed him as the team's place-kicker.Thomas hid upstairs until he knew the locker room would be cleared of players. He couldn't face them. Walter Payton, having heard the news, stayed behind. He waited alone at Thomas' locker until his friend appeared.
"I just buried my tear-soaked eyes in his chest," Thomas said. "To share your grief with a Hall-of-Fame running back with that kind of compassion, empathy and ability is really my fondest memory."
The men began their careers with the Bears together in 1975. They stayed in touch over the years.
Payton's son, Jarrett, played soccer his first two years at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. Thomas was a soccer coach for his children at Wheaton Academy, and the two saw each other for the last time two years ago when their children played against each other in the postseason in St. Charles.
Thomas, an appellate court judge running for the Illinois Supreme Court, says Payton's death was "more than a celebrity passing."
"He was a friend to Chicago. It's a testament to his humanity and the way he reached out to others."
