Jim Brown

For other people named Jim Brown, see Jim Brown (disambiguation).

Jim Brown
Brown on a 1959 Topps football card, with the Browns uniform
Brown in 1959
No. 32
Position:Fullback
Personal information
Born:(1936-02-17)February 17, 1936
St. Simons, Georgia, U.S.
Died:May 18, 2023(2023-05-18) (aged 87)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:232 lb (105 kg)
Career information
High school:Manhasset (Manhasset, New York)
College:Syracuse (1954–1956)
NFL draft:1957 / round: 1 / pick: 6
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:12,312
Rushing average:5.2
Rushing touchdowns:106
Receptions:262
Receiving yards:2,499
Receiving touchdowns:20
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 to 1965. Considered one of the greatest running backs of all time, as well as one of the greatest players in NFL history,[1] Brown was a Pro Bowl invitee every season he was in the league, was recognized as the AP NFL Most Valuable Player three times. Brown won an NFL championship with the Browns in 1964. He led the league in rushing yards in eight out of his nine seasons, and by the time he retired, he held most major rushing records. In 2002, he was named by The Sporting News as the greatest professional football player ever.[2]

Brown earned unanimous All-America honors playing college football at Syracuse University, where he was an all-around player for the Syracuse Orangemen football team. The team later retired his number 44 jersey, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. He is also widely considered one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time,[3][4][5] and the Premier Lacrosse League MVP Award is named in his honor.[6] Brown also excelled in basketball and track and field.[7]

In his professional career, Brown carried the ball 2,359 times for 12,312 rushing yards and 106 touchdowns, which were all records when he retired. He averaged 104.3 rushing yards per game and is the only player in NFL history to average over 100 rushing yards per game for his career. Brown was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. He was named to the NFL's 50th, 75th, and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, composed of the best players in NFL history. Brown was honored at the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship as the greatest college football player of all time.[8][9] His number 32 jersey is retired by the Browns.

Shortly before the end of his football career, Brown became an actor. He retired at the peak of his football career to pursue an acting career. He obtained 53 acting credits and several leading roles throughout the 1970s.[10][11][12] He has been described as Hollywood's first black action hero and his role in the 1969 film 100 Rifles made cinematic history for featuring interracial love scenes.[13]

Brown was one of the few athletes, and among the most prominent African Americans, to speak out on racial issues as the civil rights movement was growing in the 1950s. He participated in the Cleveland Summit after Muhammad Ali faced imprisonment for refusing to enter the draft for the Vietnam War, and he founded the Black Economic Union to help promote economic opportunities for minority-owned businesses. Brown later launched a foundation focused on diverting at-risk youth from violence through teaching them life skills, through which he facilitated the Watts truce between rival street gangs in Los Angeles.

  1. ^ "Joe Montana, Jim Brown on Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Team". National Football League. July 29, 2013. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  2. ^ "Football's 100 Greatest Players: No. 1 Jim Brown". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  3. ^ "Top 5 Ranked Mens Lacrosse Players Of All Time". rookieroad.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "Jim Brown, Lacrosse, 1955–57". Syracuse University Athletics. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "Top 10 Best Lacrosse Players of All Time". SportsGeeks. March 25, 2023. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  6. ^ PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH LACROSSE LEGEND & NFL HALL OF FAMER JIM BROWN Archived January 31, 2023, at the Wayback Machine – via Premier Lacrosse League (2022). Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  7. ^ "Jim Brown". orangehoops.org. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  8. ^ "The 150 greatest players in college football's 150-year history". ESPN. January 14, 2020. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  9. ^ Anderson, Chris (January 14, 2020). "Jim Brown honored at National Championship game as greatest college football player of all time". Cleveland19. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown dead at 87 | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jim Brown – Turner Classic Movies". Tcm.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  12. ^ Pettit, Matt (September 18, 2014). "Tough Guy: Jim Brown – Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library". Tscpl.org. Archived from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Freeman, Mike (May 19, 2023). "Jim Brown was a Hollywood legend, an activist and highly flawed. 'I do what I want to do'". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.