CLEVELAND (AP) — Jim Brown was nearly unstoppable in every arena.
Whether on the field, as a Hollywood movie hero or civil rights advocate, Brown was a force.
One of the greatest players in NFL history, Brown, who retired at the peak of his playing career to pursue acting and has remained in the public spotlight as an activist — and for off-field transgressions that included allegations of violence against women – died. . He is 87.
A spokesman for Brown’s family said he died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles on Thursday night with his wife, Monique, by his side.
“To the world, he is an activist, actor, and football star,” Monique Brown wrote in a post on Instagram. “To our family, he was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts are broken.”
One of pro football’s first superstars, Brown was a wrecking ball while leading the league in rushing for eight of his nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He never missed a game, playing in 118 straight before his sudden retirement in 1965 — after being named Most Valuable Player.
Brown led the Browns to their last championship in 1964 before retiring from football in his prime at age 30 to make movies. He appeared in more than 30 films, including “Any Given Sunday” and “The Dirty Dozen.”
A powerful runner with speed and stamina, Brown’s arrival sparked the game’s growing popularity on television and he remained an unshakable figure after his playing days.
Brown was also a champion for Black Americans and used his platform and voice to fight for equality.
“I hope every Black athlete takes the time to educate themselves about this incredible man and what he did to change all of our lives,” said NBA star LeBron James. “We all stand on your shoulders Jim Brown. If you grew up in Northeast Ohio and were Black, Jim Brown was a God.”
In June 1967, Brown organized “The Cleveland Summit,” a meeting of the nation’s top Black athletes, including Bill Russell and Lew Alcindor, who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to support the fight of boxer Muhammad Ali against serving in Vietnam.
In later years, he worked to curb gang violence in LA and in 1988 founded Amer-I-Can, a program to help disadvantaged inner-city youth and ex-convicts.
On the field, there’s no one like Brown, who explodes past would-be tacklers, refusing to let someone bring him down before running away from linebackers and defensive backs. He’s also famous for using his stiff arm to throw defenders away in the open field or push them away like rag dolls.
In fact, Brown is unlike anything in his past, and some feel that there is no one better than Cleveland’s No. 32. At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, he’s relentless, battling for every yard, dragging multiple defenders along or finding holes where there seem to be none.
After Brown was tackled, he slowly got up and walked more slowly back to the huddle — then dominated the defense when he got the ball back.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered his condolences on behalf of the league.
“Jim Brown was a gifted athlete — one of the most dominant players to ever step foot on any athletic field — but also a cultural figure who helped promote change,” Goodell said. “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 involved in social initiatives outside of their sport.”
Off the field, Brown is a contentious, complex figure.
Although he had a soft spot for the needy, he was also arrested half a dozen times, mostly on charges of assaulting women.
In June 1999, Brown’s wife called 911, saying Brown had broken into her car with a shovel and threatened to kill her. During the trial, Monique Brown recanted. Jim Brown was acquitted of domestic threats but convicted of misdemeanor vandalism. A Los Angeles judge sentenced Brown to six months in prison after he refused to attend domestic violence counseling.
He also clashed with Browns coach Paul Brown and later team management, even though he played his entire career in Cleveland.
When his playing days were over, Brown left Hollywood and eventually settled there. Brown advised Cleveland coach Blanton Collier of his retirement while the team was in training camp and he was on the set of “The Dirty Dozen” in England.
His films include “100 Rifles,” “Mars Attacks!” Spike Lee’s “He Got Game,” Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday,” and “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” which parodied the blaxploitation genre. In 2002, Brown was the subject of Lee’s HBO documentary “Jim Brown: All-American.”
In recent years, Brown’s relationship with the Browns has been strained. He served as a mentor to owner Randy Lerner and was hired to mentor the team’s younger players. However, in 2010, Brown parted ways with the team after his role was reduced by incoming team president Mike Holmgren. Brown felt resentful of the perceived slight — when the club unveiled a “Ring of Honor” inside its downtown stadium, Brown did not attend the ceremony in protest.
The Browns erected a statue of Brown outside their stadium in 2016.
Brown has made only a few public appearances in recent years. In February, he attended the NFL Honors ceremony when the league announced it was renaming the league’s rushing title as The Jim Brown Award.
Brown was an eight-time All-Pro and went to the Pro Bowl in each of his nine years in the league. When he retired, he held the league records for yards (12,312) and touchdowns (126).
“He told me, ‘Make sure that when someone comes up against you they remember how much it hurt,'” Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey said. “He lived by that philosophy and I’ve always followed that advice.”
Born on Feb. 17, 1936, in St. Simons Island, Georgia, Brown was a multisport star at Manhasset High School on Long Island. He averaged 14.9 yards per carry in football and once scored 55 points in a game.
A two-sport star at Syracuse — some say he was the best lacrosse player in NCAA history — Brown endured countless racist taunts while playing at an almost all-white school at the time. However, he was an All-American in both sports and lettered in basketball.
Brown was the sixth overall pick of the 1957 draft, joining a team that regularly played for the title. He was the Offensive Rookie of the Year that season.
Running behind an offensive line that featured Hall of Fame tackles Lou Groza and Mike McCormack, Brown set the league mark with 1,527 yards and scored 17 TDs en route to the league’s Most Outstanding Player award — an MVP debut — in 1958. Over the next three seasons, he never rushed for less than 1,257 yards before finishing with 996 in 1962.
He led the NFL in rushing eight times, gaining a career-best 1,863 yards in 1963. He averaged 104 yards per game, scored 106 rushing touchdowns and averaged an impressive 5.2 yards per carry. . Also a dangerous receiver, Brown finished with 262 catches for 2,499 yards and another 20 TDs.
“I’ve said it many times, and I’ll always say it, Jim Brown was the best,” Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers once said, “and he’ll still be the best after all his records are broken. ”
The No. Brown’s 32 was retired by the Browns in ’71, the same year he entered the Hall of Fame. But he rarely visited Cleveland in the 1970s and ’80s. He and Cleveland owner Art Modell were at odds over his sudden retirement; the two eventually patched up their differences and remained friends.
Brown supported Modell’s decision to move the Cleveland franchise to Baltimore in 1995. This was both a reflection of his loyalty to Modell and another sign of his fierce independence. Brown is one of the few former Browns players who didn’t resent Modell for moving the team.
Many modern players do not appreciate Brown or his impact on American sports.
“They grew up in a different era,” former Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. “He’s one of the best players in the history of the NFL and what he’s accomplished in his time is tremendous. I don’t know that anybody could do what he did, the way he did, under the circumstances he had to run and the things he has to endure.
“And for her to come out on top, that’s something that a lot of guys don’t appreciate either.”
Brown is survived by his wife and son Aris; daughter, Morgan, son, Jim Jr.; daughter, Kimberly; son, Kevin; daughter, Shellee; and daughter, Kim. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Karen Ward.
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