I can’t believe we lost another sports icon during this calendar sports season. Legendary Cleveland Browns running back, Hollywood actor, and Civil Rights leader Jim Brown has sadly passed away a few days ago at the age of 87.
The sports and NFL world really is a hollower place without Jim Brown.
As many have now seen, the NFL icon Jim Brown, who was probably more famous for his movie roles and civil rights work with the younger generations than his dominating play on the football field, sadly passed away at his Los Angeles home at 87 years old. And, despite not always being the greatest role model throughout his life, Jim Brown’s legacy should be one that is remembered fondly.
Just starting off with his football career, there’s probably only three or four NFL players (Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, Lawarence Taylor, and maybe Joe Montana) in the over 100 years history of the league (founded 1920) who can compare to Brown’s greatness. That’s how great of a player Brown was back in the 1950’s through the mid 1960’s.
In just 9 years as the starting running back/fullback for the Cleveland Browns, Brown rushed for 12,312 yards (NFL record when he retired), had 2,359 rushing attempts (NFL record when he retired), had 107 rushing TDs (NFL record when he retired), averaged 104.3 rushing yards/game for his entire career (still the NFL record), won 3 MVP awards (tied-3rd most in NFL history), 1957 Rookie of the Year award, was named to 9 Pro-Bowl games and 9 All-Pro teams, was the starting running back on the 1960’s HOF All-Decade team, and he won the 1964 NFL championship for the Browns.
I don’t think you need me to tell you how great Brown was as a running back as he won a championship with the CLEVELAND BROWNS! That’s incredible in its own right.
Anyways, back to a more serious note, the reason why Brown retired from the NFL after the 1965 season at just 29 years old (which was a season he won the NFL championship, won the rushing title, had the most rushing TDs, and the MVP award for a third time) was due to a contract dispute with infamous Browns owner Art Model.
You see, Jim Brown had already turned to his mind and career focus to acting throughout the 1965 season and was filming a part in the famous The Dirty Dozen movie (1967) when Modell threatened to suspended Brown without pay if he didn’t return to the team in time for 1966 season.
So, forsaking his $60k salary from the Browns and enduring the wroth of Modell, Jim Brown decided to retire for good and turn his attention fully on movie making as he went on to star in 30-60 (depending on the credits you look at) movies and T.V. shows and even some famous ones too, such as 100 Rifle (1969), Ice Station Zebra (1968), Slaughter (1972), The Running Man (1987), and Mars Attacks (1996). What a guy, right?
There’re tons of ex-athletes who try their hand in filmmaking to only find that they are utterly atrocious at acting. So, for Brown, who had no prior acting experience, to be able to master acting and have a role in close to 30-60 films is truly a feat just as impressive as his NFL career.
Though, what many more people will find remarkable was how dedicated and crucial Jim Brown was in the Civil Right Movement cultivating in the United States during the 1960s.
Along with the other African American sporting icons of the day, such as Muhammed Ali (passed away: 2016), Bill Russell (passed away 2022), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (thankfully still with us), Brown used his global status to promote societal change and equal rights for all Americans, regardless of one’s skin color or ethnic background, and African Americans especially.
In what has to be one of the most famous civil rights moments of the day, Brown organized and then joined Ali, Russell, Abdul-Jabbar, and nine other prominent African American stars of the day on stage in Cleveland, Ohio (which is now known as the Cleveland Summit) to support Muhammed Ali’s refusal to be drafted during the Vietnam War and later the world heavyweight title belt being stripped off him.
Given how tense and volatile those days were for African Americans and “draft dodgers”, whether it be honest objection to the war (which is Ali’s case) or a dishonest attempt to get out of fighting, I find Brown’s (and all those other sports stars) actions that day extremely admirable. In spite of all the hatred and vitriol he received from the bigoted, segregationist leaders and organizations, Brown stood up for what was right.
And that’s a quality very few in the world can boast of possessing.
However, before I conclude this tribute to the icon, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the numerous allegations and arrests throughout his life. On at least 6-7 occasions I found while researching this tribute, Jim Brown was accused of assaulting, abusing, beating, threatening, and/or raping multiple women and business partners.
Now, Brown was never convicted of any of these charges and only served 6-months (really 3 months as he was let out on probation) in jail for disobeying a court order, but there’s rarely smoke without a fire. I’m not saying Brown did any of these allegations against him, but I find it hard to believe he was set up or wrongfully convicted for similar crimes over 7+ times.
Nevertheless, I’m of the mind that the good one does in their life has the potential to outweigh the bad they may or may not have committed. We’re all complicated, contradictory individuals struggling to survive from one day to the next in the world, and Jim Brown was no different.
That’s how I’m viewing Jim Brown as his contribution/impact to the betterment of US society, the treatment of African Americans, equal rights in the United States, and the world of sports can’t be outright dismissed or “lessened”…even if Brown may not have been the most upstanding gentleman (that’s me putting it lightly) on multiple occasions.
So, I really hope Brown was able to make amends and find peace in the later stages of his life as, in my humble opinion, he truly was a good man that helped millions live better lives through his actions.
Rest in peace, Jim Brown, you have more than earned it.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Wikimedia Creative Commons License/Author: LBJ Foundation) (LBJ Foundation, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
