News of the passing of NFL legend Jim Brown over a week ago saddened the sports world. While funeral arrangements remain pending, Brown’s career on and off the field is well remembered.
The Hall of Famer was born in Georgia, played high school ball in New York and then attended Syracuse.
He was also a star basketball and lacrosse player for the Orange.
Drafted in the first round with the sixth overall pick by the Browns — how kismet is that — Brown would dominate the NFL.
And terrify defenses around the league.
In case you were wondering, the five players drafted ahead of him:
- Paul Hornung (HOF)
- Jon Arnett
- John Brodie
- Ron Kramer
- Len Dawson (HOF)
The Rams taking running back Jon Arnett out of USC might be the only questionable pick of the first six.
Mr. Brown Meets Mr. Brown
Cleveland’s head coach and general manager, Paul Brown, happily utilized his rookie running back in 1957.
Jim Brown would play all 12 games, finishing with 942 yards and nine touchdowns.
In his first playoff game, for the NFL Championship. Brown would score the Browns’ first touchdown on a 29-yard run.
The Lions would roll to an easy 59-14 win. But Jim Brown was just getting started.
He would lead Cleveland back to two more NFL Championship game appearances in 1964 and 1965.
In the 1964 game, he would rush for 114 yards on 27 carries and caught three passes for 37 yards.
His efforts fueled a 27-0 rout over the Colts for the title.
With Baltimore focused on stopping Brown, Frank Ryan tossed touchdown passes of 18, 42, and 51 yards to Gary Collins.
The next year the Browns got out to a 9-7 lead over the Packers at Lambeau Field. But Hornung’s 13-yard run in the third put Green Bay in position to win 23-12.
How Do We Beat This Guy?
The Cowboys faced the Browns 11 times during Brown’s career between 1960-65.
They lost all but one of those games.
Brown’s first game against Dallas came on Oct. 16, 1960, at the Cotton Bowl. He had just seven carries for 25 yards.
Brown scored a touchdown and added a 24-yard reception in a 48-7 win.
His best two games against the Cowboys came on Sept. 22, 1963, and Oct. 18, 1964.
The 1963 game, also at the Cotton Bowl, saw Brown rush for 232 yards and two scores on just 20 carries.
The 1964 game saw Brown go for 188 yards on 26 carries in Cleveland.
Both contests ended in Cleveland victories.
The lone Cowboys win came on Dec. 2, 1962, at the Cotton Bowl. The Cowboys’ defense held Brown in check, limiting him to 29 yards on eight carries.
Ryan was forced to throw the ball, tossing three touchdowns and one interception.
Don Meredith was 10-of-12 for just 147 yards, but he threw a pair of touchdowns.
But Amos Marsh (17 carries, 117 yards) and Don Perkins (22-92 with two touchdowns) literally ran the Browns out of Dallas in a 45-21 victory.
Brown ran for 99 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries in his last game against Dallas, a 24-17 win at the Cotton Bowl on Nov. 21, 1965.
Brown’s career stats against Dallas in 11 games was 200 carries for 1,053 yards and eight touchdowns.
He caught 28 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
Post NFL Career
After being named the NFL’s MVP in 1965, Brown retired just before the start of the 1966 season.
He was filming The Dirty Dozen in Europe and delays in shooting plagued the set.
With the deadline looming for Brown to report to camp for the new season, the 30-year-old retired instead and finished the film.
He finished with 12,312 yards and 106 touchdowns in 118 games over nine seasons.
It’s good enough for 11th all-time in the NFL still. He’s the top rusher among players who played when the NFL schedule was just 12 games a year.
Brown added 2,499 yards on 262 receptions with 20 touchdowns to his career numbers.
He was a three-time MVP.
The IMDB website lists 58 acting credits in film and television for Brown. His last credit was the 2014 film, Draft Day, a film about a fictional Cleveland Browns’ draft.