Many Americans remember Walter Payton as a football player – as they should, since the Hall of Fame running back proved himself one of the game’s best during his 15 seasons with the Chicago Bears. But Payton also had a side gig – during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, he served a pitchman for Buicks. Payton’s image appeared in Buick ads throughout Chicago, and he made annual appearances at Chicago’s Auto Show, where PR shots like this one were distributed.
This shot is one of the best – not only featuring Payton during his prime, but also showing one of Buick’s more unusual car models, a Century Olympia.
Walter Payton is fondly remembered for scenes like this one. Drafted by the Bears in 1975, the Mississippi native brought his college rushing and scoring abilities north with him. Within two years, Payton made the Pro Bowl, and within three years he became the NFL’s leading scorer. Throughout the 1980s, Payton remained one of the league’s most notable players, leading the Bears to a Super Bowl victory in 1985, and retiring in 1987 as football’s career rushing leader. After retirement, Payton remained in his adopted city until his untimely death from cancer in 1999.
Payton’s “other” career is less well known. Pro athletes have long stumped for consumer goods, and many served as periodic spokesmen for local car dealership associations. So when Walter Payton first appeared at the 1977 Chicago Auto Show, signing autographs and greeting fans at the Buick exhibit, it didn’t seem unusual (that year, five other Bears were performing similar functions at the GMC exhibit). Few could have imagined that he’d serve as Chicago’s premier Buick spokesman for twelve years.
Ads such as the one above became common around Chicago. Every year, Payton would spend several days greeting fans at the Auto Show, and would perform occasional Buick-related functions throughout the year. For this, he was remunerated financially, and was given the complimentary use of a new Buick each year. Payton hardly needed the money – his initial contract of $150,000 per year was at the time among the highest in Bears franchise history. But product endorsements bring appealing supplementary income for athletes (Payton also promoted KangaROOS shoes), and in addition to that, many pro athletes viewed the auto show circuit as an excellent way to build rapport with fans.
The phenomenon of athletes appearing at auto show exhibits reached its peak during the 1980s. At Chicago’s show, for instance, basketball great Michael Jordan and Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg appeared for several years at the Chevrolet display, Bears linebacker Mike Singletary signed on with AMC/Jeep, and halfback Neal Anderson with Honda. Even coach Mike Ditka appeared at the Auto Show for a few years. There were many others as well, though the trend of sports figures hosting meet-and-greets at auto shows began diminishing in the 1990s.
Whatever his motivations, Payton remained as loyal to Buick as he was to the Bears. The running back appeared at the Chicago Auto Show’s Buick exhibit each year between 1977 and 1989, usually for several hours a day for at least a week. He would often have autograph-signing sessions, would talk to groups of fans, answer questions, and shake hands. The Internet is replete with stories of fans who met Payton at the Auto Show, and remained fans of his for life. Many years, Buick exhibits gave away 8”x10” prints of Payton standing by one of the year’s significant Buick models. Payton’s pre-printed autograph appeared on the PR shots, while the opposite side contained a list of Metro Chicago Buick Dealers.
Our featured PR shot was distributed at the 1984 Auto Show, when Buick’s promoted model was the Century Olympia. That car itself is worth a closer examination.
The 1980s and 1990s were likely the peak years for Americans’ enthusiasm over the Olympics, as many ordinarily sports-averse people would suddenly become obsessed with events such as track and field, skiing, swimming or figure skating – sports that typically held little mass appeal. Interest swelled still further during those years when the Olympics were held in the United States, such as 1984 when Los Angeles hosted the games.
Many corporations sought to cash in on this interest, paying the US Olympic Committee for the honor of being an “official sponsor.” As such, Converse became the official athletic shoe of the 1984 US Olympic Team, Levi Strauss the official uniform supplier and ABC the official TV network. Sometimes the connection between the company and actual athletics was a stretch: McDonald’s was the official fast service restaurant, M&Ms the official snack food, Transamerica the official insurer… and Buick was the US Olympic Team’s official car. Buick executives refused to divulge how much they spent to be the official car, though the Division’s assistant general manager called the investment “substantial.”
This official car status meant that Buicks accompanied the cross-country Olympic torch relay (which was routed to go by Buick’s Flint, Michigan headquarters), and hundreds of Buicks were sent to Los Angeles to provide rides for athletes and dignitaries. It also meant that Buick was authorized to use the Olympic logo on its products. Hence, the Century Olympia was born.
The Olympia was a Century Limited sedan, available only in white with a tan interior (as close to Olympic Gold as Buick’s color palette allowed), and featuring numerous Olympic-themed embellishments. These included USA Olympics “commemorative plaques” on the fenders and rear decklid, a special hood ornament, unique gold-accented alloy wheels, and still more Olympic Rings embroidered onto the front seat headrests. The entire package retailed for $406 on top of the Century Limited’s $9,738 base price.
Civic-minded consumers would be relieved, though, that Buick donated $100 to the US Olympic Team for each Olympia sold. It’s unclear just how many Olympias were produced, but given that they were sold nationwide, and were not exceedingly uncommon to see when new, it’s likely that at least 1,000 – possibly many more – saw the light of day.
Buying an Olympic-themed car might seem odd from a modern viewpoint, but in an era when American patriotism ran high, when the Olympics were a source of pride, and when over 200,000 Centurys found homes each year, it becomes easier to see how a Century that championed the US Olympic Team would hold some appeal.
The Century Olympia embodied the optimistic spirit of cheering for the home team. And in Chicago, Walter Payton, a champion whom untold thousands cheered for on Sunday afternoons, was an ideal pitchman for this car.
Being born and raised in Chicagoland I had forgotten “Sweetness” was a pitchman for Buick. I do remember William “The Refrigerator” Perry doing ads for the Pontiac Parisienne for Chicagoland Pontiac dealers (“Just like me, you open the door, the light goes on.”). I also remember the Chicago Auto Show having special days to get Chicago teams pro athlete autographs.
Walter Payton had a second career after football. He got into auto racing, and entered SCCA competition. I have a picture of him running at Road America in 1989 at a sports car race driving an Olds Cutlass Ciera. No points awarded for guessing his car number. He did well enough that in the early 1990s he moved up to the Trans Am series. He retired from driving in 1994 and became partners in with Plainfield, IL based Dale Coyne racing (which is still active in IndyCar) and the team was renamed Payton-Coyne racing. Not surprisingly, the team ran a #34 car for years.
Speaking of athletes, I do remember in the heyday of the MJ Bulls Chicagoland Chevy dealers selling a “Michael Jordan Edition” Chevrolet Blazer (the S-10 based one). Did any other non-auto racing athletes get their own special edition cars for their local markets?
Tying it all back to an Olympic Buick, my late mother’s execrable 1983 Buick Century Limited sedan had a “Buick – Official Car of the US Olympic Team” window decal in the fixed C-pillar window. Bought of course at a Chicagoland Buick dealer listed on the rear of any Sweetness signed 8X10 glossy.
Great story. How often does a celebrity endorser actually like the product so much that he switches careers to stay with the endorsed product? Most of them don’t even know what they’re endorsing.
Great essay, Eric! I vaguely remember my parents’ 1983 LeSabre Limited having quarter window stickers with the Olympic logo. Mr. Payton looks pretty stylish in that three-piece suit leaning on the Riviera. Is that an Isuzu-Opel in the background?
The blue Buick Opel in the background of the ’84 Riviera is a puzzler. Seems an odd “classic” for a dealership to have in the showroom. For one, it was scarcely more than a dozen years old, and also not quite the kind of car I could see 1980s Buick dealers looking back at longingly.
I also like Payton’s picture with the white ’86 Riviera. His formal attire, saucy stance, and of course the unloved downsized Riviera are a great combination. That particular car as a personalized “WP 34” license plate, so I wonder if that was Mr. Payton’s personal-use car for that year?
In the early 70s, a minor Redskin would speak at our small church’s men’s club every year. I’m sure many still do charity work, but the paid endorsements sure seemed to taper off when the pro sports money spigots opened wide. Has anyone replaced young Tiger Woods in Buick ads? Do young people realize running backs used to be the stars of the game?
It’s an East Coast thing too:
Nobody paid more for a 1984 Olympic sponsorship than McDonald’s. At the risk of spamming the thread with two cartoon clips in a row, The Simpsons did a lot better job explaining it than I could;
This was the best. Krusty is my favorite.
I remember seeing all of the Buicks with the Olympics tie in – they didn’t miss an opportunity to tell everyone about the connection, whether on window decals, nameplates, and even local newspaper ads.
I am not the biggest sports fan in the world, but I sure remember the way those 1985 Bears captured the country’s imagination, and Walter Payton was a big part of that.
Probably only a few of those Buick dealers left. In August of 1980 my dad paid a visit to Grant Dean Buick in Highland Park, looking to buy a Skylark. All of their 1980 models left on the lot were fully loaded, as in every box checked. I’m sure that dealership did a huge business in these as they were all over Chicago’s northern suburbs, almost all the Limited version. Dad didn’t want the “cathouse” interior on these, but the dealer wouldn’t budge on the price of an 81. He ended up with a Phoenix LJ which had a very nicely trimmed interior and was equipped the way he wanted. The Phoenix was a very good 40,000 mile car is what my dad said. At 45,000 the transmission grenaded.
Walter Payton was a wonderful guy who loved what he was doing on the football field, never lost his humility and was seemingly everywhere cheering kids on. My wife has a personal story about him because as a little kid, she won a contest raising money for the heart fund. She skipped rope. When the schools met to celebrate their accomplishments, there was Walter Payton, skipping rope with my her along with other winners.
Walter met my father-in-law, a Mr. Goodwrench for 30 years, my wife and Payton left those kids feeling like they just won an Olympic sport themselves. Walter Payton was a really great guy and we miss him.
The 1984 LeSabre my Dad inherited (my great uncle’s last car) had an Olympic Rings window sticker on the rear door’s little window by the C pillar… I remember it saying something like “Official Sponsor” or “Buick, the official car of the US Olympic team” or something like that.
It seemed that EVERYONE was an “Official Sponsor” of the Olympics in those days.
I really like that white/gold combo with that Century. Ah, the good old days. I sure wish we had the styling from then with the reliability/fuel economy/safety of today’s cars. It’s what I find so lacking any more: sedans and any form with any style. Oh, and they really need to bring back special editions with more than just black wheels and trim while calling it the blacked-out edition.
I enjoyed everything about this post. I don’t follow any sports teams or players, but it’s not because I think sports are beneath me – just outside the scope of my main interests. My first time hearing about Walter Payton was probably while riding the Brown Line CTA “L” train into the Loop for work, where I would pass Walter Payton College Prep HS. Like the other athletes mentioned, he’s Chicago royalty. Much respect to him (and the others).
I do think you’re right about the ’80s being a time of a lot of hype around the Olympics. IMO, the Century was the best-looking FWD A-Body of this generation (before things went slightly wonky with attempts at aero-style rounding). And I loved all the interior shots of the showrooms with all that wood paneling. I could just see and smell a chrome ashtray on a stand in one of those showrooms, next to a pot of four-hours-old coffee that’s burning slightly.
Thank you for this great post.
“I loved all the interior shots of the showrooms with all that wood paneling”
Your mention of this had something occur to me; that specific look must have been at one point the operating standard for a Buick showroom, because I distinctly remember Buerkle Buick in the Twin Cities being that same wood panel/green carpet “style”, and how jarringly not modern it was (this would have been 1998), even for Buick. With this context, makes much more sense now. Different era, indeed.
The pic of the “Buick Opel by Isuzu” may be from 1979-80.
One of the older gentlemen who I worked with at Datapoint had a new one (though maybe it was just one of the other olympic models, as it wasn’t white, rather beige outside). It had the ringed olympic logos all over it.
I was more interested when he bought an ’85 Toyota Celica new..that was more my speed back then, though nowdays I’d likely go for the Buick. It was a different time, 2 door cars were much more common, and sporty models fit my age bracket back then.
Sadly, the gentleman has had a series of strokes…I now live about 90 miles away, and wanted to have lunch with him or something, but guess his condition precludes that now. Mostly lost touch with the guys I worked with, but have met some others who I didn’t know when I worked there.
Funny how your taste in cars can change with age…cars I had no interest in at all back then are now interesting and cars I pined over back then are of indifference to me now..priorities or perspective, the both change with time, as well as what you appreciate.