Jim Brown, NFL Legend and 'Unstoppable' Dallas Cowboys Rival, Dies at 87
FRISCO - Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, arguably the NFL's best-ever player, as the Dallas Cowboys learned during their expansion infancy, has died. He was 87.
The AP reports that spokesperson for Brown’s family said he "passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night with his wife, Monique, by his side.'' The AP also labels him "unstoppable'' - and that was as true as it was for maybe any athlete who's ever lived.
Brown played in the NFL from just 1957 to 1964, choosing to leave the sport to pursue a career in acting. But even in his final season he was chosen the NFL’s Most Valuable Player as he'd shattered most every rushing record in league history.
Brown - at 6-2 and 230 pounds larger but also faster and more graceful that most any other player of his time - led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title in 1964 after a half-decade of tormenting foes, including the Cowboys. During his time in the NFL (as he qualified for the Pro Bowl in each of his nine seasons), Cleveland played the expansion Cowboys nine times. The Browns won eight of those games.
He was 30 when he retired, having never missed an NFL start (118 straight games). Brown, who encountered trouble with the law due to allegations of domestic violence, was at the same time an early voice in Black Americans fight for equality, in 1967 organized a meeting in Cleveland featuring Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in support of boxer Muhammad Ali’s anti-Vietnam War stance. Brown became a major force in Los Angeles via his founding of Amer-I-Can, a program to help disadvantaged kids.
And in addition to his incomparable football highlights, his Hollywood career is a notable one, as he appeared in more than 30 films, from "The Dirty Dozen'' to Oliver Stone's “Any Given Sunday.''
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