CHICAGO�The man known to the sports world as �Sweetness� died Nov. 1. Walter Payton, the NFL�s leading rusher with 16,726 yards in his 13-year career, was 45-years-old.

Mr. Payton died of bile duct cancer that was discovered during his treatment earlier this year for a rare liver disease known as primary sclerosing cholangitis, a mysterious disease that causes the body�s immune system to mistakenly attack its own tissues.

Last February Mr. Payton made the stunning announcement that he had the rare disease that would require a liver transplant. But even then doctors knew the sports legend was too ill for a transplant.

�I knew he had cancer,�� said Dr. David Van Thiel, director of the liver transplant program at Loyola University Medical Center. �I was sure he wasn�t going to get a transplant because you can�t transplant when they have cancer.��

The doctor said that Mr. Payton was gaunt and jaundiced, meaning that he not only had the rare disease but also had bile duct cancer.

Dr. Greg Gores, who confirmed that cancer had killed his patient, was treating Mr. Payton at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

�The malignancy was very advanced and progressed very rapidly,�� Dr. Gores said at a news conference. �Because of the rapid nature of his cancer, the cancer spread outside his liver. At that point, liver transplant was no longer tenable.��

Commenting on the death, President Clinton said, �In the long highlight reel of this life cut short, Walter Payton will always be a man in motion: breaking tackles, breaking records, clearing every obstacle in his path. Walter Payton faced his illness with the same grit and determination that he showed every week on the football field. The people of Chicago � and all Americans who love the game of football � will miss him profoundly.

Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka who coached Mr. Payton, called him �the best football player I�ve ever seen.�

�And he led by example on the field. He was the complete player. He did everything. ... He was the greatest runner, but he was also probably the best blocking back you ever saw,� said Mr. Ditka, who now coaches the New Orlean Saints.

�Walter was the kind of individual who refused to think, �Why me, why now?� He just continued to look forward,�� said Mike Singletary, his teammate from 1981-87 and a close friend.

Even in his final days, Mr. Singletary said Mr. Payton never talked about dying.