Jim Brown 1936-2023

Jim Brown, who once held the NFL's records for carries, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns, died yesterday evening at his home in Los Angeles.  As stated by his wife Monique earlier today, he "passed peacefully last night".  He was 87.  Besides his accomplishments as a college and professional football player, Brown was also an actor, a social activist and a sports analyst.

James Nathaniel Brown was born in St. Simon's Island, Georgia and moved to Manhasset, New York (on Long Island) when he was 8 years old.  In high school, he played football, baseball, lacrosse and basketball, and ran track, earning a total of 13 letters.  In one basketball season, he averaged 38 points per game, which was a Long Island record until it was broken by Carl Yastrzemski, who went on to play baseball for the Boston Red Sox.

Brown attended Syracuse University and played on its football team from his sophomore to senior years.  He ran for 986 yards as a senior, the third most in the nation, despite Syracuse playing only 8 regular season games.  He also kicked extra points.  Brown continued playing basketball and lacrosse and running track in college, and was named a first-team All-American in lacrosse.  He also participated in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and afterwards served four years in the Army Reserve.

The Cleveland Browns (who later became the Baltimore Ravens) took Brown as the sixth overall selection in the 1957 NFL draft.  He played for the Browns for nine years and was invited to the Pro Bowl in all of them.  He was the AP NFL Most Valuable Player three times.  He was the first NFL player to score 100 rushing touchdowns, something very few others have done, despite having more games in a regular season (16) than Brown did (12 or 14).

Brown's first acting role was as a buffalo soldier in the 1964 film Rio Conchos.  He later appeared in movies such as The Dirty Dozen, The Split, Riot, 100 Rifles, Mars Attacks! and The Running Man.  He also guest-starred in some TV shows such as Knight Rider and The A-Team.  Alongside NBA players Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes (D), Brown was a member of the "Cleveland Summit", a meeting with boxer Muhammad Ali, who sought their help in his efforts for civil rights.  In 1965, Brown became the first black televised boxing announcer, for a fight between Ernest Terrell and George Chuvalo.  In 1993, he was a color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Brown married Sue Jones in 1959.  They had three children, and were divorced in 1972.  He married Monique in 1997 and with her had two children.  He is survived by his second wife Monique and his five children.

Read more at ESPN, USA Today, CBS Sports, The Athletic and The Sporting News.