Why Jim Brown is the Best Athlete Ever

Jim Brown was an athlete ahead of his time. His accomplishments set him apart from other athletes because he set the standard by which all others are measured. Not only did he excel on the football field, but he also did well at other sports. I believe one of his most spectacular feats was never missing a game during his nine year professional football career. Jim Brown was a running back who dished out more punishment then he took. His never-quit-running attitude far outshines many of today’s “prima donna” athletes. No question about his talent and guts. Jim Brown always came to play on game day.

It was almost 50 years ago that he blazed the trail for others to follow. Few running backs, during the last five decades, have matched his performance. With 230 pounds of muscle packed onto his 6-foot-2 frame, he was a dynamo on the field. Explosive and powerful, he would just keep moving forward until he was finally tackled. No dodging out of bounds for Jim Brown. With his size, he would fit right in with the modern backs of today. And no doubt outrun them all.

Back in the late fifties, when he began his career, defenses were more geared toward stopping the run. Compare that to today, where there is much more emphasis put on the passing game. Some may say that Jim Brown is undeserving because he only played football for nine years. During the first four years of his career, the regular season was only 12 games long. Then it expanded to 14 games. Still, I believe with his physique and stamina, he could have played a 16 game season without any problem. Jim Brown lead the entire league in rushing in eight of his nine seasons.

His statistics are a matter of record and attest to his superior abilities as an athlete. He still holds many records including a 104 yard average per-game and a 5.2 yard average per-carry. Had he played 16 game seasons, he quite possibly could have amassed another 2,700 yards in his nine years of playing. That would have given him about 15,000 yards over a nine year career. Well at the level of play or better than any modern player over the last 40 years.

Today’s level of competition in all major sports has become diluted with expansion. There are far more fringe players able to play simply because rosters must be filled with bodies. In Brown’s time, the overall level of talent was better because you had the best going against the best more often than not. Players are bigger and stronger nowadays and the pace of game-action is often faster. However, with the better players spread out over more teams, the overall talent level has diminished. The contrast is that today’s athletes appear to be better because they are competing against a lower level of talent.

Jim Brown also excelled at playing Lacrosse. Some say that might have been his best sport. He is the only player to be inducted into the halls of fame for pro football, college football, and lacrosse. The incredible fact about this man was his life growing up. Born in 1936, he was abandoned by his father two weeks after his birth. His mother left him when he was two years old. Six years later, she sent for him. She had taken work on Long Island, New York. During those six years, his alcoholic great-grandmother raised him.

Brown earned 13 letters during his high school years in five different sports. From baseball to track, Jim Brown was an extraordinary athlete. In his senior year, he and several of his teammates formed a gang. Mostly they got into fights but never into any serious trouble. He would end up at Syracuse College where he would continue to impress everyone who crossed his path. Then in 1957, the Cleveland Browns would select him as the 6th pick in the first round. He would end up with rookie of the year honors.

Jim Brown left football after the 1965 season, at the pinnacle of his profession. He was in the early stages of a promising acting career. While filming the movie, “The Dirty Dozen”, he decided to call it quits and devote more time to his acting. He would then go on to star in some 32 films. I can’t say I was to sad to see him leave since I was a Detroit Lion fan. It seemed that he loved to tear apart the Lion’s defense whenever they played against him. But I must admit I like most of his movies. As time goes by, it is easier to respect just how good of an athlete Jim Brown really was.

Today Jim Brown helps gang members through his self-created Amer-I-Can program. This project is successful in over a dozen cities helping gang members to become productive citizens. He continues to promote empowerment programs in the community to help create better lives. Given his early childhood and the obstacles he overcame, Jim Brown deserves to be known as the best athlete ever. He did it with talent, fortitude and downright determination. He always gave his best out on the field.