Legendary Syracuse Football Player, Jim Brown has Died
Pro Football player, Civil Rights Activist and Actor, Jim Brown died Thursday.
Brown, a Syracuse University graduate and legendary running back was 87.
According to the Associated Press, James Nathaniel Brown passed peacefully with his wife Monique by his side at their home in Los Angeles.
Brown was an amazing athlete. He played football for the Syracuse Orange where he was a unanimous All-American his senior season and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. Additionally he played several other sports including lacrosse, basketball and track and field.
The team retired his number 44 jersey and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
In his NFL career, Brown played for the Cleveland Browns from 1957 through 1965. He was considered one of the greatest running backs of all time, and is the only player in NFL history to average over 100 rushing yards per game for his career.
He was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971
Brown pursued acting shortly before retiring from the NFL. He earned 53 acting credits with roles in movies like The Dirty Dozen, 100 Rifles, Mars Attacks, The Running Man.
Brown was known for his activism and for speaking out on civil rights issues. In 1967 he participated in what was known as the Cleveland Summit, a meeting held in Cleveland, Ohio with ten other athletes, twelve African-American leaders, and one politician, to show support for boxer Muhammad Ali’s refusal to fight in the Vietnam war.
Brown was founder of the Negro Industrial Economic Union, later known as the Black Economic Union (BEU), to help promote and support economic opportunities for minority owned businesses.
Upon his death the NFL issued the following statement:
"On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Monique and their family," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "Jim Brown was a gifted athlete – one of the most dominant players to ever step on any athletic field – but also a cultural figure who helped promote change.
“During his nine-year NFL career, which coincided with the civil rights movement here at home, he became a forerunner and role model for athletes being involved in social initiatives outside their sport. He inspired fellow athletes to make a difference, especially in the communities in which they lived.”
