Jim Brown

Jim Brown, who was born in St. Simon, GA, on February 17, 1936, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. His athletic career began as a teenager in Manhasset, NY, where he excelled in football, basketball and lacrosse.

During Brown's collegiate years, he continued to play those sports at Syracuse University, winning All-America accolades as a senior in 1956. In his final regular season game, he collected 43 points by scoring sex touchdowns and kicking seven extra points in a 61-7 win over Temple. Despite those exploits, he only finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.

In the 1957 NFL Draft, Brown was chosen by the Cleveland Browns as the sixth overall selection. Over the course of the next nine seasons with the team, he would lead the league in rushing eight times and in rushing touchdowns five times. During that entire time, he never missed a game and won Most Valuable Player honors from either the Associated Press or United Press International four times.

As a rookie during that 1957 season, Brown established a new single-game rushing record with 237 yards against the Los Angeles Rams. Four years later, he matched his own record against the Philadelphia Eagles.

In 1962, Brown suffered a severely sprained wrist early in the year, but continued to play with the injury. His production was affected by the issue, with Brown narrowly missed what would have been his fifth consecutive season of gaining more than 1,000 yards.

Brown rebounded in 1963 with his greatest year, gaining 1,863 yards rushing to establish a new single-season record, a record that would stand for the next decade. Then, in 1964, Brown helped the Browns win the NFL title, the only championship team he would be part of during his NFL career.

During his final season in 1965, Brown gained 1,544 yards and led Cleveland to another appearance in the NFL Championship game. However, that ended in a 23-12 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The following July, Brown was taking part in filming his role in "The Dirty Dozen," when production delays resulted in his missing the early part of training camp. Rather than pay the fines levied against him by team owner Art Modell because of his absence, Brown chose to retire from football.