Jim Brown: A Syracuse University Legend

James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown (February 17, 1936 - May 18, 2023) was an American athlete, actor, and activist whose accomplishments at Syracuse University cemented his place as a sports icon. His versatility and dominance across multiple sports are legendary, and his impact extends far beyond the playing field. St. Jim Brown was the greatest all around athlete in Syracuse University's history, and arguably the greatest in American history.

Early Life and High School Career

Born on St. Simons Island, Georgia, Brown's early life instilled in him a sense of self-reliance. He credited his upbringing in this community, where racism didn't directly affect him, for his strong character. At the age of eight, he moved to Manhasset, New York, on Long Island, where his mother worked.

Before arriving at Syracuse, Brown was a standout athlete at Manhasset Secondary School, earning an impressive 13 letters across football, basketball, baseball, and lacrosse. In football, he averaged an astounding 14.9 yards per carry. His basketball prowess was equally remarkable, as he averaged over 38 points per game. In 1952, he earned the Thorpe Award, presented to the most outstanding football player in Nassau County. In the same year, he earned Newsday All-Scholastic honors in basketball, after averaging a then-Long Island record 38 points per game.

Overcoming Obstacles at Syracuse

Brown's path to Syracuse wasn't without its challenges. Despite his exceptional high school record, he arrived in the fall of 1953 without an athletic scholarship. A victim of racial attitudes of the times, Brown came to Syracuse in the fall of 1953 without a scholarship in hand and was the only black player on the freshman football team. According to Syracuse University lacrosse star Kenneth Molloy, the university initially hesitated to admit Brown because "[Syracuse] did not want black athletes." Molloy became a benefactor, personally financing and fundraising for Brown's first year. Brown endured racist taunts while he was at Syracuse.

Collegiate Athletic Achievements

Once at Syracuse, Brown's athletic prowess shone brightly. He earned 10 varsity letters in four different sports: football, basketball, lacrosse, and track. Brown's career at Syracuse started the legacy of the number 44. He epitomized Syracuse University's deep commitment to military service having been commissioned as a second lieutenant through Army ROTC and continuing his military service in the Army Reserves while playing in the NFL.

Football Legend

Brown's legend at Syracuse was in football, and he began the legend of #44. Brown was the ultimate running back, and also the place kicker on the team. He set standards in football that all future Syracuse players would be measured by. As a sophomore at Syracuse, Brown was the second-leading rusher on the team. As a junior, he rushed for 676 yards (5.2 per carry). In his senior year in 1956, Brown was a consensus first-team All-American. As a senior in 1956, he was a unanimous All-American and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. That season he set the SU record for highest rush average in a season (6.2), most rushing touchdowns in a game (6) and most points scored in a game (43). He ran for 986 yards - third-most in the country despite Syracuse playing only eight games - and scored 14 touchdowns. In the Cotton Bowl, he rushed for 132 yards, scored three touchdowns and kicked three extra points.

He scored a then-NCAA record 43 points, including rushing for six touchdowns and 197 yards against Colgate in 1956. He had other games with rushing totals of 162, 155, 154 and 151 yards, and he made runs of 78, 66, 53, 41 and 37 yards. His season rushing total in 1956 was 986, a Syracuse record which landed him third in the nation, and he averaged 123.3 yards per game that season. During his three seasons with the Orange, he amassed 23 touchdowns and 2,091 yards on the ground, averaging 5.79 yards per carry, in 24 games. He also led the Orange in kickoff returns in 1955 and 1956, amassing 611 return yards during his three seasons.

Basketball Prowess

He played basketball his sophomore and junior years at Syracuse, averaging 13.1 points per game. He was a ferocious rebounder, and the best athlete on the floor. He would score 33 points against Sampson Air Force Base his sophomore season, in a game he did not even start. Brown would not return for his senior season however, because he was not permitted to be a starter. An unwritten rule at Syracuse prohibited the team starting three black athletes in basketball, and Syracuse had Vinnie Cohen and Manny Breland also on the team. Cohen believed Syracuse would have won the national title in basketball in 1957 if Brown had played with them; as it was, they lost in the Elite Eight. As a sophomore, he was the second-leading scorer for the basketball team (15 ppg).

Lacrosse Dominance

Brown is considered one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time. A two-time lacrosse All-American, Brown was the nation's second leading scorer as a senior (43 goals in 10 games). His senior season he led Syracuse to an undefeated season as the team went 10-0, and was co-leader of the national scoring championship. Brown was so dominant in the game, that they changed the rules requiring a lacrosse player to keep his stick in constant motion when carrying the ball. He was a two-time All American Midfielder. His senior year, he was named a first-team All-American in lacrosse with 43 goals in 10 games, tying for first in national scoring with Jack Daut, and was the first African-American to play in the North-South All Star Game. Brown was so dominant in the game, that lacrosse rules were changed requiring a lacrosse player to keep their stick in constant motion when carrying the ball (instead of holding it close to his body). There is currently no rule in lacrosse that requires a player to keep their stick in motion.

Track and Field

On occasion, he participated with the track team. In 1954 he finished fifth in the decathlon at the National AAU meet. He once competed in two sports the same day. On a warm May day in 1957 he wore his track suit, won the high jump and javelin, placed second in the discus, and helped Syracuse beat Colgate in a dual meet. He was a letterwinner on the track team. In 1955, he finished in fifth place in the decathlon at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

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Other Athletic Pursuits

He was a fantastic boxer. Roy Simmons Jr, the coach of the Syracuse boxing team thought Brown could have been the heavyweight champion if he dedicated himself to the sport. Brown didn't play baseball at Syracuse, but he could have. He threw two no-hitters in high school, and the Yankees had scouted him.

Legacy at Syracuse

Brown's impact on Syracuse University is undeniable. In 2005, Syracuse University retired No. 44, which he wore along with fellow College Football Hall of Fame inductees Ernie Davis and Floyd Little and several others. He was named to Syracuse University's All-Century Football Team. "Jim Brown is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes to ever wear Orange," said Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud. "Jim was a four-sport athlete at Syracuse who was an All-American in both football and lacrosse. An NFL legend, he set numerous records, won countless awards and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, among others. He epitomized Syracuse University's deep commitment to military service having been commissioned as a second lieutenant through Army ROTC and continuing his military service in the Army Reserves while playing in the NFL. He went on to be a successful actor, tireless advocate for social justice and one of Syracuse's proudest ambassadors. "Jim Brown is one of the greatest all around athletes of all time," said Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack. "At Syracuse he was the first of the famed 44s and excelled at lacrosse, basketball and track & field. A four-sport letterwinner at Syracuse, Brown wore the Block S on the football and lacrosse fields, the basketball court and as a track & field student-athlete. "Jim Brown was the greatest player to ever play the game," said Syracuse head football coach Dino Babers. "I remember my dad making me watch his highlights as a kid so I could appreciate his greatness.

Professional Football Career

Rec. Brown was the 3rd pick in the 1957 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Brown made coach Paul Brown look like a genius by winning the Rookie of the Year award. Brown would play 9 seasons in the NFL, setting virtually every rushing record possible including most yards rushing in a season, most yards rushing in a career, most yards per carry, most rushing touchdowns, and most total touchdowns. He was named to the Pro-Bowl all 9 years he played in the NFL, and he never missed a play in football due to an injury. Rec. Pass Att. Pass Com.

Brown's record of scoring 100 touchdowns in only 93 games stood until LaDainian Tomlinson did it in 89 games during the 2006 season. Brown was cognizant of the physical toll exacted by carrying the ball as a lead running back and began foreshadowing an early retirement as early as 1960, when the 24-year old Brown told a journalist, "I've carried the ball 749 times in three years with the Browns. I get the same question everywhere I go - will so much ball-carrying and the tackling that results shorten my career? Will I end up my career groggy or, even worse, punchy as a punch-drunk prizefighter? … I hope I'm smart enough to quit the game before somebody has to tell me I'm finished. I want to leave feeling I can still do the job. That's the way the great quarterback Otto Graham finished with the Browns. He most likely had several good seasons left… But Otto quit while he was on top. Brown's 1,863 rushing yards in the 1963 season remains a Cleveland franchise record. It is currently the oldest franchise record for rushing yards out of all 32 NFL teams.[54] His average of 133 yards per game that season is exceeded only by O. J. Simpson's 1973 season. Brown led the league in rushing a record eight times.

After winning his third league MVP award in 1965,[58] Brown retired in July 1966 at age 30 while still in top form. He was in England for the shooting of the movie The Dirty Dozen. He had expected to return to the Browns afterwards, but retired when team owner Art Modell threatened him with fines for missing training camp.[58][59][60] Brown held the NFL career rushing record of 12,312 yards until it was broken by Walter Payton on October 7, 1984, during Payton's 10th NFL season. During Brown's career, Cleveland won the NFL championship in 1964 and were runners-up in 1957 and 1965, his rookie and final season, respectively.

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Transition to Acting and Activism

In 1965 he shocked the sports world by announcing his retirement from football at the age of 30 and at the prime of his career. Brown wanted to focus on his new acting career. He had just spent the spring filming The Dirty Dozen.

Brown began his acting career before the 1964 season, playing a buffalo soldier in a Western action film called Rio Conchos.[69] The film premiered at Cleveland's Hippodrome theater on October 23, with Brown and many of his teammates in attendance. The reaction was lukewarm. In early 1966, Brown was shooting his second film in London.[71] MGM's The Dirty Dozen cast Brown as Robert Jefferson, one of 12 convicts sent to France during World War II to assassinate German officers meeting at a castle near Rennes in Brittany before the D-Day invasion. MGM cast Brown in his first lead role in The Split (1968), based on a Parker novel by Donald E. Westlake. He was paid $125,000 for the role.[74] Brown followed it with Riot (1969), a prison film for MGM. Both it and The Split were solid hits at the box office. Brown went to 20th Century Fox for 100 Rifles (1969). His 1980s appearances were mostly on television. Brown appeared in some TV shows including Knight Rider in the season-three premiere episode "Knight of the Drones". Brown appeared in Original Gangstas (1996)[86] and Mars Attacks!

Brown was one of the few athletes to speak out on racial issues in the 1950s as the civil rights movement was growing.[58] He was one of the most prominent African American athletes to engage in civil rights activism, and he called on other African American athletes to become involved in similar initiatives off the field.[90] In 1967, Brown, alongside Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Carl Stokes, were all members of the Cleveland Summit, a meeting with Muhammad Ali held with the intention of convincing the four to rally behind and recruit others to help Ali's cause of civil rights in the United States.[91] Because Ali was a "pariah" in American society at the time because of his opposition to the Vietnam War and refusal to enter the draft, his boxing license had been revoked, and he faced up to five years in prison. In 1966, Brown founded the Negro Industrial Economic Union, later known as the Black Economic Union (BEU), to help promote economic opportunities for minority owned businesses.[94] Brown later stated in a 1968 Ebony interview, "We've got to stop wasting all our energy and money marching and picketing and going things like camping-down in Washington on a Poor People's Campaign…We've got to get off the emotional stuff and do something that will bring about real change. We've got to have industries and commercial enterprises and build our own sustaining economic base.

Brown has been involved in a variety of social causes in his career, aiming at providing young African-Americans with opportunities and keeping them on the right path. He has set up several different organizations on their behalf. Perceiving Brown and other outspoken African-American athletes as a threat, the Federal Bureau of Investigation monitored Brown and his organizations. In 1983, 17 years after retiring from professional football, Brown mused about coming out of retirement to play for the Los Angeles Raiders when it appeared that Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris would break Brown's all-time rushing record.[103] Brown disliked Harris' style of running, criticizing the Steelers' running back's tendency to run out of bounds, a marked contrast to Brown's approach of fighting for every yard and taking on the approaching tackler.[104] Eventually, Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears broke the record on October 7, 1984, with Brown having ended thoughts of a comeback. Harris, who retired after the 1984 season after playing eight games with the Seattle Seahawks, fell short of Brown's mark. Following Harris's last season, in that January, a challenge between Brown and Harris in a 40-yard dash was nationally televised. Brown, at 48 years old, was certain he could beat Harris, though Harris was only 34 years old and just ending his elite career.

In 1993, Brown was hired as a color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a role he occupied for the first six pay-per-view events.[111] In 2008, Brown initiated a lawsuit against Sony and EA Sports for using his likeness in the Madden NFL video game series. He claimed that he "never signed away any rights that would allow his likeness to be used".[112] From 2008 until his death, Brown served as an executive advisor to the Browns. On October 11, 2018, Brown along with Kanye West met with President Donald Trump to discuss the state of America, among other topics.[116] Criticized by the black community for the meeting, Brown said that Trump was the sitting president and "we can't ignore that seat and just call names of the person that's sitting in it".

Legal Issues

Throughout his career, Brown had various run-ins with the law, many of which involved allegations of domestic violence. In 1999 he was found guilty of vandalizing his wife’s car. Although offered probation if he followed the court’s requirements, which included counseling, Brown refused and instead served nearly four months in prison in 2002.

In 1968, Brown was charged with assault with intent to commit murder after model Eva Bohn-Chin was found beneath the balcony of Brown's second-floor apartment.[122] The charges were later dismissed after Bohn-Chin refused to cooperate with the prosecutor's office. Brown was also ordered to pay a $300 fine for striking a deputy sheriff involved in the investigation during the incident. In 1970, Brown was found not guilty of assault and battery, the charges stemming from a road-rage incident that had occurred in 1969.[124] In 1975, Brown was convicted of misdemeanor battery for beating and choking his golfing partner, Frank Snow. In 1999, Brown was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats toward his wife Monique. According to Brown, "The only time [we] ever have an argument is during [her menstrual period]". "There is no excuse for violence," said Brown in 2015.[68] "There is never a justification for anyone to impose themselves on someone else. And it will always be incorrect when it comes to a man and a woman, regardless of what might have happened. You need to be man enough to take the blow. That is always the best way. Brown married his first wife Sue Brown (née Jones) in September 1959.[120] She sued for divorce in 1968, charging him with "gross neglect".

Death and Tributes

Brown died of natural causes at the age of 87 on May 18, 2023, at his home in Los Angeles. Barack Obama, the 44th president and the first black president of the United States, wrote, "I was too young to remember Jim Brown's playing days, but I knew his legacy.

Honors and Accolades

Jim Brown racked up several honors. He is the only individual inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame (1995) and the Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1984). He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1971 in his first year of eligibility. He was named to the Walter Camp All-Century Team and was on the Syracuse University All Century Football Team.

Brown's memorable professional career led to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. Brown is still the only player in history to win the NFL Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in the same year.[155] In addition to winning the NFL MVP in 1957, 1958, and 1965, Brown was named league MVP by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, Maxwell Football Club, and DC Touchdown Club in 1963. Brown is the only NFL player to average 100 rushing yards per game for their career.[156] In 118 career games, he averaged 104.3 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry; only Barry Sanders (99.8 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry)[157] comes close to these totals. For example, Hall of Famer Walter Payton averaged 88 yards per game during his career with a 4.4 yards-per-carry average. ESPN's SportsCentury in 1999 ranked Brown fourth among their 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century, trailing only Muhammed Ali, Babe Ruth, and Michael Jordan. That same year, The Sporting News selected him as the greatest football player of all time,[2] as did the New York Daily News in 2014.[159] On November 4, 2010, Brown was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the second-greatest player in NFL history, behind only Jerry Rice.

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