Syracuse football legend Jim Brown, who sadly passed away at the age of 87 on May 18, is the most accomplished student-athlete in the history of SU sports.
He played four sports on the Hill – football, lacrosse, basketball and track & field. He is most known for his iconic career as a running back for the Orange and in the pros. Many experts, though, have prognosticated that Jim Brown is not only the best running back in NFL history, but he’s also perhaps the greatest lacrosse player ever, too.
Jim Brown, who along with the late Ernie Davis and the late Floyd Little, created a national brand at Syracuse football by wearing the iconic number 44. In his playing days at the ‘Cuse, Brown received All-America honors in both football and lacrosse.
In his final season for Syracuse football in 1956, Jim Brown was a unanimous All-American and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting, per cuse.com. That season, in eight games, he rushed 158 times for 986 yards and 13 scores on the ground.
For the entirety of his Syracuse football career, Brown competed in 24 games. He had 361 carries for 2,091 yards, which translates to 5.8 yards per rushing attempt. Jim Brown also scored 19 rushing touchdowns while on the Hill.
The late Jim Brown, a Syracuse football legend, had a storied NFL career.
Jim Brown, who is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and the Professional Football Hall of Fame, played nine seasons in the NFL, all with the Cleveland Browns.
He finished his Browns’ career by playing in 118 games, rushing 2,359 times for 12,312 yards, or 5.2 yards per carry. He also scored 106 rushing touchdowns.
In his nine terms, Jim Brown led the NFL in rushing on eight occasions and was voted the league’s MVP three times. In every year of his NFL tenure, he was voted to the Pro Bowl, and he was a first-team All-Pro selection in eight campaigns.
In 1964, Brown was an NFL champion, and he reached the NFL championship game in 1957, 1964 and 1965. What’s important to keep in mind here is that when Jim Brown competed in the NFL, the league had a 12-game schedule for the first four years of his career and 14-game stanzas in his final five years.
At the age of 29, Brown shockingly retired from the NFL, “having set records in single-season rushing, career rushing, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and all-purpose yards,” according to SU Athletics.
Undeniably, Jim Brown put forth a ton of ridiculously awesome performances in the NFL, and I’m sharing below what I think are 13 of his best showings throughout his nine-season pro tenure.
November 24, 1957
Cleveland defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 45-31
Brown rushed 31 times for 237 yards, or 7.65 yards per carry, with four rushing TDs
September 28, 1958
Cleveland defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 30-27
Brown rushed 24 times for 171 yards, or 7.13 yards per carry, with two rushing TDs
October 12, 1958
Cleveland defeated the Chicago Cardinals, 35-28
Brown rushed 34 times for 182 yards, or 5.35 yards per carry, with three rushing TDs
October 26, 1958
Cleveland defeated the Chicago Cardinals, 38-24
Brown rushed 24 times for 180 yards, or 7.50 yards per carry, with four rushing TDs
November 1, 1959
Cleveland defeated the Baltimore Colts, 38-31
Brown rushed 32 times for 178 yards, or 5.56 yards per carry, with five rushing TDs
November 13, 1960
Cleveland defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 28-27
Brown rushed 28 times for 173 yards, or 6.18 yards per carry, with two rushing TDs
November 11, 1961
Cleveland defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 45-24
Brown rushed 34 times for 237 yards, or 6.97 yards per carry, with four rushing TDs
September 22, 1963
Cleveland defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 41-24
Brown rushed 20 times for 232 yards, or 11.60 yards per carry, with two rushing TDs
November 3, 1963
Cleveland defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-17
Brown rushed 28 times for 223 yards, or 7.96 yards per carry, with one rushing TD
December 1, 1963
Cleveland defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 24-10
Brown rushed 29 times for 179 yards, or 6.17 yards per carry, with two rushing TDs
October 18, 1964
Cleveland defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 20-16
Brown rushed 26 times for 188 yards, or 7.23 yards per carry
December 27, 1964
Cleveland defeated the Baltimore Colts, 27-0, in the NFL championship game
Brown rushed 27 times for 114 yards, or 4.22 yards per carry
November 14, 1965
Cleveland defeated the New York Giants, 34-21
Brown rushed 20 times for 156 yards, or 7.80 yards per carry, with three rushing TDs