Also American
Struggle & ResistanceAchievement & Excellence

October 1984

Zoom out
Achievement · sport
Walter Payton Becomes NFL All-Time Rushing Leader

Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton breaks Jim Brown's NFL career rushing record, surpassing 12,312 yards against the New Orleans Saints. 'Sweetness' finishes his career with 16,726 rushing yards, a record that stands for 18 years.

Events

  1. October 7, 1984
    Walter Payton Becomes NFL All-Time Rushing Leader

    Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton breaks Jim Brown's NFL career rushing record, surpassing 12,312 yards against the New Orleans Saints. 'Sweetness' finishes his career with 16,726 rushing yards, a record that stands for 18 years.

  2. October 11, 1984
    August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Opens on Broadway

    August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, his first Broadway production, wins four Tony Awards and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. Set in a 1927 Chicago recording studio, it launches Wilson's cycle of plays about the Black experience across the 20th century.