James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American professional football player, civil rights activist, and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 to 1965. Widely considered one of the greatest running backs of all time, as well as one of the greatest players in NFL history,[1] Brown was selected to a Pro Bowl and All-Pro team every season he was in the league, and was recognized as the AP NFL Most Valuable Player three times. Brown won an NFL championship with the Browns in 1964. He led the league in rushing yards in eight out of his nine seasons, and by the time he retired, he held most major rushing records. In 1999, he was named the greatest professional football player ever by The Sporting News and the Associated Press.
Brown earned unanimous All-America honors playing college football at Syracuse University, where he was an all-around player for the Syracuse Orangemen football team. The team later retired his number 44 jersey, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. He is also widely considered one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time,[4][5][6] and the Premier Lacrosse League MVP Award is named in his honor.[7] Brown also excelled in basketball and track and field.[8]
In his professional career, Brown carried the ball 2,359 times for 12,312 rushing yards and 106 touchdowns, which were all records when he retired. He averaged 104.3 rushing yards per game and is the only player in NFL history to average over 100 rushing yards per game for his career. Brown was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. He was named to the NFL's 50th, 75th, and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, composed of the best players in NFL history. Brown was honored at the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship as the greatest college football player of all time.[9][10] His number 32 jersey is retired by the Browns.
Shortly before the end of his football career, Brown became an actor. He retired at the peak of his football career to pursue an acting career. He obtained 53 acting credits and several leading roles throughout the 1970s.[11][12][13] He has been described as Hollywood's first black action hero and his role in the 1969 film 100 Rifles made cinematic history for featuring interracial love scenes.[14]
Brown was one of the few athletes, and among the most prominent African Americans, to speak out on racial issues as the civil rights movement was growing in the 1950s. He participated in the Cleveland Summit after Muhammad Ali faced imprisonment for refusing to enter the draft for the Vietnam War, and he founded the Black Economic Union to help promote economic opportunities for minority-owned businesses. Brown later launched a foundation focused on diverting at-risk youth from violence through teaching them life skills, through which he facilitated the Watts truce between rival street gangs in Los Angeles.
