<p> Jim Brown (1936--)</p><p>Abandoned at birth by his father and left behind by his mother, James Nathaniel Brown was raised by his grandparents until age 7 when he was reunited with his mom. Some friends of his mom saw Brown’s athletic prowess and encouraged their alma mater, Syracuse, to recruit him. They disagreed. So, those friends donated the money for his tuition. After one year of playing lacrosse and football for the Orangemen, Brown earned that scholarship.</p><p>In lacrosse and football, Brown could sprint like a jaguar in the open field, devouring the distance with long, leaping strides. Or he could lower a shoulder and charge like a bear, fierce and defiant, most dangerous when cornered. Brown would always find the daylight if it was there, but if he had to, he would run right through you. </p><p>At Syracuse, Brown was a star in both sports. In lacrosse, Brown was so powerful and dominant that the rules of the game had to be changed because his sheer power made it impossible to steal the ball from him. He is currently a member of the lacrosse Hall of Fame. In football, Brown became a star his junior year and then an All-American in his senior year. Coach Paul Brown selected Jim Brown with the Browns’ first pick in the draft. </p><p>Jim Brown started every Browns’ game for the next nine years. In an all too brief 106-game career, he won eight NFL rushing titles, was named to nine pro bowls, earned two MVP awards, racked up over 12,000 yards lugging the football and set every major rushing record in the game. In 1966, new owner Art Modell (more to come on this awful man in another C-Town…) gave Brown an ultimatum: stop acting in Hollywood, which was Brown’s side job, or else. Brown walked. He quit the game at 29 years old.</p><p>After football, Brown acted in various Hollywood films over the next 30 years, most recently Mars Attacks! and Any Given Sunday. He also was an advocate of civil rights before it was fashionable for sports stars to speak up for equality, and Brown has worked tirelessly with the gangs in Los Angeles, spreading his own gospel of education self-respect.</p><p>In sports, there are endless controversies about “The Best that Ever Played.” Not so much in football. The consensus is that Jim Brown was the greatest of them all. In the book, The 100 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century, Jim Brown is #1. Not just in football. In sports. </p>