Hall of Fame
Position: Quarterback
Years: 1989-1992
Place of Birth: Harrisburg, Pa.
Date of Birth: Mar 05, 1970
Date of Death: Sept 27, 2018
Jersey Number: 14
Height: 6-2"
Weight: 225
High School: Central Dauphin East (Harrisburg, Pa.)
The 1992 recipient of the Walter Payton Award as the best player in Division I-AA, Michael Payton led Marshall to its first-ever national championship. In 2015, he became the fourth member of the Thundering Herd to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
A consensus First Team All-American as a senior, Payton led the Herd to a 12-3 record and the 1992 Division I-AA national championship after defeating Youngstown State, which was coached by fellow 2015 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Jim Tressel.
In 1991, he was the Walter Payton Award runner-up after leading the nation in passing efficiency (181.3) and taking Marshall to the national championship game. Payton was twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year. For more than 20 years, Payton held the Division I-AA record for most passing yards in a half, and he currently ranks in the top four in almost every statistical passing category in Marshall history. A two-time first team all-conference selection and a team captain in 1992, he finished his career with 689 completions for 9,411 yards and 69 touchdowns
Inducted into the Marshall University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999, Payton played for coaches George Chaump and College Football Hall of Famer Jim Donnan during his career in Huntington, W.Va. He was named West Virginia Athlete of the Year and Man of the Year in 1991 and 1992.
After spending part of 1993 with the Dallas Cowboys, Payton played two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League before finishing his career with the Florida Bobcats of the Arena Football League in 1996.
The Harrisburg, Pa., native was active in DARE and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and he was a senior staff counselor at Alternative Rehabilitation Communities in Pennsylvania. He also served as a personal trainer and life coach. Payton was also a voter in the FWAA-NFF Super 16 Poll in recent years.
Payton passed away Sept. 27, 2018, following a battle with cancer. He was 48.
