ARLINGTON, Texas – Jim Brown, considered by many to be the greatest football player to ever play the game, passed away on Thursday, May 18, at his home in Hollywood Hills, Calif. He was 87.
 
Volumes have been written about the impact Brown has had on the game of football at all levels. He wrapped up an All-America collegiate career at Syracuse University with a spectacular performance against TCU at the 21st Cotton Bowl Classic in 1957.
 
Brown rushed for 132 yards that day, scored three touchdowns and kicked three extra points. He ran through, over and around TCU defenders and left a trail of frustrated tacklers in his wake. The Horned Frogs may have won the game, 28-27, but the spotlight clearly belonged to Brown. His explosive power and intensity made stopping him next to impossible.
 
Following his memorable Cotton Bowl Classic appearance, Brown became the first-round selection of the Cleveland Browns in the 1957 NFL Draft. He played nine seasons for the Browns and led the league in rushing eight times. He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his nine seasons.
 
With Brown anchoring the Cleveland offense, the Browns played in the NFL Championship Game three times and captured the 1964 title. He also was named the league's Most Valuable Player three times.
 
Simply put, Brown is the measuring stick by which all other football players are evaluated, particularly running backs. At the Cotton Bowl Classic's 75^th anniversary game in 2011, Brown was chosen to represent the thousands of student-athletes who had participated in the bowl game since its inception in 1937 by tossing the coin for team captains from LSU and Texas A&M.
 
As great as he was on the gridiron, Brown might have been an even better lacrosse player. He often said that was his best sport. He is the only person to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1971), National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1984), and College Football Hall of Fame (1995). He was honored as a charter member of the Cotton Bowl Classic Hall of Fame in 1998.
 
However, Brown considered himself to be more than a famous football player. After his retirement from the NFL following the 1965 season at the age of 30, he focused his attention on the Civil Rights Movement as well as turning to acting. He was regarded as Hollywood's first Black action star. His acting career included more than 50 film and television roles.
 
Brown also played a significant role in American society as a champion for social activism. He was a longtime advocate for modern athletes to become more involved within the Black community. And he used his celebrity to encourage others to become involved in Civil Rights.
 
In 1988, he founded the Amer-I-can program in an effort to curb gang violence in Los Angeles and help disadvantaged inner-city youth and ex-prison inmates develop life skills and lead productive lives.
 
Legend is the word that best sums up the life of Jim Brown.
 
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