Time certainly seems to fly, especially as we age. Even then, it’s hard to believe 25 years have passed since the death of Walter Payton.
The legendary running back for the Chicago Bears lost his battle to liver cancer on Nov. 1, 1999, which came as a shock to his legions of fans, including friend and business partner Scott Ascher who, convinced an organ transplant was in the works to save his life, was hit hard by the news.
Anyone familiar with Aurora’s history knows these two men joined forces in 1995 when the NFL Hall of Famer, along with Ascher’s wife Pam and Mark Alberts, purchased the then-dilapidated old railroad complex in downtown Aurora and turned it into the Walter Payton Roundhouse.
Built in 1856 as the first limestone roundhouse in America, it sat vacant for two decades until the football icon from Barrington and developers from Schaumburg turned the complex into a thriving entertainment center that featured a brewpub, banquet facility, restaurant, open air pavilion and museum displaying some of Payton’s memorabilia, including his Super Bowl XX ring.
It should come as no surprise the partners grew close, or that Ascher learned plenty of lessons from this extraordinary athlete who, by all accounts, was also an extraordinary human being.
What might surprise you more is the fact Ascher is also an author. He wrote “The Scuba Handbook for Humans,” which made it into a second printing, and “Just Another Game,” a fictionalized account that draws on his own experiences as a college basketball player in an era where scholarship athletes could get cut before finishing their degrees.
And just recently Ascher released “Walter Payton: Roundhouse Philosopher,” which he describes as “the 34 Life Lessons” the athlete nicknamed Sweetness taught him in their four years working so closely together.
“I wish everyone could have been there to experience what I got to experience with him,” insists Ascher, now 75, a restaurant consultant and great-grandfather.
On Nov. 1, the anniversary of Payton’s death, the Aurora Historical Society is hosting a book signing from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Pierce Art and History Center at 20 E. Downer Place in downtown Aurora which, in addition to Ascher, will feature Aurora artist Fernando Medina. With each copy of “Walter Payton: Roundhouse Philosopher” sold, the East Aurora High School grad who earned an art scholarship to Northern Illinois University and is now art director at Kimberly-Clark College will be giving away signed prints of his beautiful 1999 drawing of Payton watching over the Roundhouse.
Ascher told me he chose to write the book about Payton in poetry form, but quickly describes it as “more Dr. Seuss than Tennyson.” It features many personal stories he shared with his celebrity business partner, which he believes offer “close insight” into the superstar’s personality.
For example, Payton would always declare “I’m a lover, not a fighter,” recalls Ascher. “If any arguing was going on, he’d rather not be there … if he could help us he’d be there, otherwise he would stay out of it. I had no other partners like that.”
A favorite story: During a business meeting, Payton turned on the TV and began watching “Green Acres” – he thought the pig was “funny” – while also playing music from Prince in the background. It was, Ascher insisted, “Walter’s way” of showing he did not want to talk about whatever was going on at the table.
The Roundhouse project, Ascher admits, “was quite a challenge to put together, both physically and mentally … and that comes through in the book.” And in fact, the reboot of this historic railroad facility was not even the retired athlete’s first choice in this partnership.
According to Ascher, Payton sent them “out across the country to find the right fit.” And when they finally settled on the long-neglected roundhouse, Payton’s response was, “I sent you to Maui and you chose Aurora, Illinois.” It was a line Walter would say many times in the coming years.
Of course the rest really is history, some of which will be on display through memorabilia Ascher has donated to the Aurora Historical Society.
Certainly Walter Payton Roundhouse is an important cog in Aurora’s story, which is why Aurora Historical Society Executive Director John Jaros is excited about Friday’s book signing and the chance to remember a legend who believed in our community.
“Walter was often on site while the renovation project was bringing the old abandoned ruin back to life,” Jaros recalls. “During that period, thanks to Scott, the Historical Society was able to host a ‘sneak peek’ fundraiser on site, with Water present, in late 1995.”
Once the restaurant opened in the summer of 1996, he added, the former Bears running back could often be found there on a Friday or Saturday night glad-handing with patrons.
Nearly a dozen years after Payton’s death, the partners lost the Roundhouse when the bank changed ownership and called in the mortgage.
“It was heartbreaking,” Ascher tells me, then quickly adds he’s “glad to see all the work that was done to renovate it” by the current owners of Two Brothers Roundhouse. Just days before Payton died at age 45, the building bearing his name was selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the nation’s top rehabilitated buildings.
At the time Ascher accepted this honor in Washington, D.C., he recalls, “I just thought Walter was waiting for his pager to go off” letting him know a liver was available.
“We all thought we had more time with him.”
Indeed, when news broke of Walter’s passing, Jaros was among the many stunned and saddened fans who flocked to the Roundhouse to raise a toast to the legend.
And now, 25 years later, “we will honor his memory and maybe introduce him to a wider audience,” adds Jaros. “Walter meant a lot to the entire Chicago area … and to Aurora.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com