Hall of Famer Jim Brown Passes Away

Author:
Ric Serritella
Publish date:
May 20, 2023 4:57 AM EDT

Syracuse legend was among the greatest to ever play, leading the Orange to the 1957 Cotton Bowl.

IRVING, Texas (May 19, 2023) - Jim Brown, the 1995 College Football Hall of Fame inductee who starred for Syracuse at halfback from 1954-1956, passed away May 18. He was 87.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jim Brown, one the game's true legends," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "Jim Brown was a thrill to watch. He simply set the standard by which all others were measured, and he used his position on the field as a platform to help address civil rights injustices in our country throughout his life. His contributions will not be forgotten, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this time of loss."

“We all know that Jim Brown was the greatest running back and the best of all time, but the thing that resonates in my mind is how good of a person he was,” said John Wooten, a 2012 College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Colorado who blocked for Brown in the NFL on the offensive line with Cleveland. "He said to me: ‘We are not going to be involved in sit-ins and demonstrations or marches. We not going to sit on the sidelines and not participate in this fight for human dignity and civil rights… He said the thing we can do is we can work in our own communities, making things better for young people and people who don’t have the monies to do things with.’”

Jim Brown put up some sensational numbers for Syracuse, earning the nickname "First Down Brown" along the way. He scored a then-NCAA record 43 points, including rushing for six touchdowns and 197 yards against Colgate in 1956. He had other games with rushing totals of 162, 155, 154 and 151 yards, and he made runs of 78, 66, 53, 41 and 37 yards. His season rushing total in 1956 was 986, a Syracuse record which landed him third in the nation, and he averaged 123.3 yards per game that season. During his three seasons with the Orange, he amassed 23 touchdowns and 2,091 yards on the ground, averaging 5.79 yards per carry, in 24 games. He also led the Orange in kickoff returns in 1955 and 1956, amassing 611 return yards during his three seasons. He was also a place kicker, which added to his scoring.

A unanimous First Team All-American in 1956, he finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting, and he concluded his college career in the 1957 Cotton Bowl, rushing for 132 yards and three touchdowns against TCU. In 2005, Syracuse University retired No. 44, which he wore along with fellow College Football Hall of Fame inductees Ernie Davis and Floyd Little and several others. Twelve-foot Bronze statues of the three Hall of Famers create a lasting tribute to their accomplishments on Plaza 44 outside the Orange's current practice facility

Brown's achievements went beyond football at Syracuse, earning 10 letters in four sports. He was on the basketball team two years and averaged 14 points a game in one season. A member of the track team, he placed fifth in the decathlon at the national AAU track meet in 1954. And he was most notably considered the nation's best lacrosse player, an All-America star in the sport and, in 1957, co-winner of the national scoring championship.

He once competed in two sports the same day. On a warm May day in 1957, he wore his track suit, won the high jump and javelin, placed second in the discus, and helped Syracuse beat Colgate in a dual meet. Then he put on his Lacrosse uniform and led the way to an 8-6 win over Army, winding up an undefeated season for the lacrosse team. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and was named the class marshal, leading the class in a parade to the stage for the commencement program.

The Cleveland Browns drafted him in the first round, sixth overall of the 1957 NFL Draft. He was named the NFL Rookie of the Year in 1957 and the NFL Player of the Year four times. A nine-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. He is the only person enshrined in the College Football, Pro Football and National Lacrosse halls of fame.

After his NFL career, he became a movie actor and sports broadcaster. He involved himself in charity work and in 1972 organized Food First, a program that sent food to Marshall County, Mississippi, the nation's poorest county.

The NCAA gave Brown one of its Silver Anniversary Awards in 1982. The award is based on an athlete's performance for the 25- year period after graduation. In 1988, Brown founded the Amer-I-Can Program, which focuses on working with at-risk and high-risk youth in underserved schools and juvenile detention facilities. He said of this work, "This is life. That's tougher than any football game."

An Army ROTC trainee at Syracuse, Brown was commissioned as a second lieutenant following his graduation and continued his military service in the Army Reserves while playing in the NFL. Brown continued to serve for four more years and was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve with the rank of captain.

He was named to Syracuse University's All-Century Football Team, and during the 2020 CFP National Championship Game, he was crowned the No. 1 player of college football's first 150 years by ESPN.

Born Feb. 17, 1936, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, Brown is survived by his wife, Monique, their children, Aris and Morgan, and his daughter, Kim, and his sons, Kevin and James Jr.

2023 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

PLAYERS:

Eric Berry – DB, Tennessee (2007-09)
Michael Bishop – QB, Kansas State (1997-98)
Reggie Bush – RB, Southern California (2003-05)
Dwight Freeney – DE, Syracuse (1998-2001)
Robert Gallery – OT, Iowa (2000-03)
LaMichael James – RB, Oregon (2009-11)
Derrick Johnson – LB, Texas (2001-04)
Bill Kollar – DT, Montana State (1971-73)
Luke Kuechly – LB, Boston College (2009-11)
Jeremy Maclin – WR/KR, Missouri (2007-08)
Terance Mathis – WR, New Mexico (1985-87, 1989)
Bryant McKinnie – OT, Miami [FL] (2000-01)
Corey Moore – DL, Virginia Tech (1997-99)
Michael Stonebreaker – LB, Notre Dame (1986, 1988, 1990)
Tim Tebow – QB, Florida (2006-09)
Troy Vincent – DB, Wisconsin (1988-91)
Brian Westbrook – RB, Villanova (1997-98, 2000-01)
DeAngelo Williams – RB, Memphis (2002-05)

COACHES:

Monte Cater – 275-117-2 (70.1%); Lakeland [WI] (1981-86), Shepherd [WV] (1987-2017)
Paul Johnson – 189-99-0 (65.6%); Georgia Southern (1997-2001), Navy (2002-07), Georgia Tech (2008-18)
Roy Kramer – 83-32-2 (71.8%); Central Michigan (1967-77)
Mark Richt – 171-64-0 (72.8%); Georgia (2001-15), Miami [FL] (2016-18)

The 18 First Team All-America players and four standout coaches in the 2023 Class were selected from the national ballot of 80 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 96 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks.

"We are extremely proud to announce the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class," said Archie Manning, NFF Chairman and a 1989 College Football Hall of Famer from Mississippi. "Each of these men has established himself among the absolute best to have ever played or coached the game, and we look forward to immortalizing their incredible accomplishments."

The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class will officially be inducted during the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5, 2023, at the ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas.

The inductees will also be recognized at their respective collegiate institutions with NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the fall. Their accomplishments will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and each inductee will receive a custom ring created by Jostens, the official and exclusive supplier of NFF rings.

The announcement of the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class was made today during "Championship Drive Presented by Mercedes-Benz" leading up to tonight's College Football Playoff National Championship.

"We want to thank ESPN for the opportunity to announce the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class during today's lead up to the College Football Playoff National Championship," said NFF President & CEOSteve Hatchell. "Today's announcement shines a light on the accomplishments of some of college football's greatest legends."

2023 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS NOTES

PLAYERS:

1 Heisman Trophy winner (Tebow)
1 NFF William V. Campbell Trophy® recipient (Tebow)
10 unanimous First Team All-Americans (Berry (2), Bush, Freeney, Gallery, James, Johnson, Kuechly, McKinnie, Moore, Stonebreaker)
8 consensus First Team All-Americans (Bishop, Bush, Johnson, Kuechly, Maclin, Mathis, Stonebreaker, Tebow)
10 multi-year First Team All-Americans (Berry (2), Bush (2), James (2), Johnson (2), Kuechly (2), Maclin (2), McKinnie (2), Moore (2), Stonebreaker (2), Westbrook (3))
11 winners of college football major awards (Berry – Thorpe; Bishop – Davey O'Brien; Bush – Doak Walker, Walter Camp; Gallery – Outland; James – Doak Walker; Johnson – Butkus, Nagurski; Kuechly – Butkus, Lombardi, Nagurski; McKinnie – Outland; Moore – Lombardi, Nagurski; Tebow – Campbell, Davey O'Brien, Heisman, Maxwell (2); Westbrook – Walter Payton)
4 members of national championship teams (Bush (2), McKinnie, Stonebreaker, Tebow (2))
13 conference players of the year (Berry, Bush (2), Freeney, Gallery, Johnson, Kollar, Kuechly, McKinnie, Moore (2), Tebow (3), Vincent, Westbrook (2), Williams (3))
9 members of conference championship teams (Bush (3), Freeney, Gallery, James (3), Kollar, McKinnie (2), Moore, Tebow (2), Westbrook (2))
12 players who still hold school records (Berry, Bishop, Bush, Freeney, James, Johnson, Kuechly, Maclin, Mathis, Tebow, Westbrook, Williams)
8 played for College Football Hall of Fame coaches (Berry – Phillip Fulmer; Bishop – Bill Snyder; Johnson – Mack Brown; Maclin – Gary Pinkel; Moore – Frank Beamer; Stonebreaker – Lou Holtz; Vincent – Barry Alvarez; Westbrook – Andy Talley)
12 first-round NFL draft picks (Berry, Bush, Freeney, Gallery, Johnson, Kollar, Kuechly, Maclin, McKinnie, Tebow, Vincent, Williams)
10 offensive players (Bishop, Bush, Gallery, James, Maclin, Mathis, McKinnie, Tebow, Westbrook, Williams)
8 defensive players (Berry, Freeney, Johnson, Kollar, Kuechly, Moore, Stonebreaker, Vincent)
5 decades represented: 1970s (1) – Kollar; 1980s (2) – Mathis, Stonebreaker; 1990s (3) – Bishop, Moore, Vincent; 2000s (10) – Berry, Bush, Freeney, Gallery, Johnson, Maclin, McKinnie, Tebow, Westbrook, Williams; 2010s (2) – James, Kuechly
3 schools with their first-ever Hall of Fame player (Montana State – Kollar; Villanova – Westbrook; Memphis – Williams)

COACHES:

28 conference championships (Cater – 19, Johnson – 5, Kramer – 2, Richt – 2)
1 coach with the most wins in school history (Cater – Shepherd [WV])
50 bowl/postseason appearances (Cater – 13, Johnson – 18, Kramer – 1, Richt – 18)
3 national championships (Johnson – 2, Kramer – 1)
51 First Team All-Americans coached (Cater – 24, Johnson – 11, Kramer – 1, Richt – 15)
3 national coaches of the year (Johnson, Kramer, Richt)
21 conference coach of the year honors (Cater – 13, Johnson – 5, Richt – 3)
2 schools with their first-ever Hall of Fame coach or player inductee (Lakeland [WI] – Cater; Shepherd [WV] – Cater)

NFF EVENTS

About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship, and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters in 47 states, NFF programs include the selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta; Future For Football; The William V. Campbell Trophy®; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards & Hatchell Cup presented by the Original Bob’s Steak & Chop House; and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Hanold Associates Executive Search, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

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NFF Mission

Our mission is to promote and develop the power of amateur football in developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academic excellence in America's young people.

We will fulfill this mission in the following ways:

By inspiring young people to excellence: holding up the greatest players and coaches in the history of the game as role models and enshrining them and their achievements in the College Football Hall of Fame.
By exciting young people, and those who influence them, about the game: in particular, managing the College Football Hall of Fame in such a way as to dramatize the history, exhilaration and value of the game to an ever broadening audience of fans and potential fans.
By developing, managing and promoting model football programs, which further strengthen the educational and character building qualities of the game.
By honoring, publicizing and providing financial support to high school and college football players who represent our ideal of the scholar-athlete.
By continuing a grassroots movement, through local chapters, while involving football fans, coaches, educators, the media and former players in the implementation of the programs, which will fulfill our mission for America

Through this mission, The Foundation serves not only youth, but the nation as well.

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President & CEO

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