Black History Month: People Who Changed the World #4

Alright people! A sports themed one today! Today I present one of the greatest NFL players in history: James Brown.

Bio (and stats): James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former professional American football player and actor. He was a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be among the greatest football players of all time, Brown was a Pro Bowl invitee every season he was in the league, was recognized as the AP NFL Most Valuable Player three times, and 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 had shattered most major rushing records. In 2002, he was named by The Sporting News as the greatest professional football player ever. Brown earned unanimous All-America honors playing college football at Syracuse University in New York, where he was an all-around player for the Syracuse Orangemen football team. He also excelled in basketball, track and field, and lacrosse. The football team later retired his number 44 jersey. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

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 104.1 rushing yards per game, and is the only player in NFL history to average over 100 rushing yards per game for his career. His 5.2 yards per rush is third-best among running backs. Brown was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. He was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, comprising the best players in NFL history. His number 32 jersey is retired by the Browns. Shortly after his football career, Brown became an actor, and had several leading roles throughout the 1970s.

(Stats):
Rushing Receiving
Year Team GP Att Yds TD Lng Avg Yds/G Att/G Rec Yds Avg TD Lng
1957 CLE 12 202 942 9 69 4.7 78.5 16.8 16 55 3.4 1 12
1958 CLE 12 257 1,527 17 65 5.9 127.3 21.4 16 138 8.6 1 46
1959 CLE 12 290 1,329 14 70 4.6 110.8 24.2 24 190 7.9 0 25
1960 CLE 12 215 1,257 9 71 5.8 104.8 17.9 19 204 10.7 2 37
1961 CLE 14 305 1,408 8 38 4.6 100.6 21.8 46 459 10.0 2 77
1962 CLE 14 230 996 13 31 4.3 71.1 16.4 47 517 11.0 5 53
1963 CLE 14 291 1,863 12 80 6.4 133.1 20.8 24 268 11.2 3 83
1964 CLE 14 280 1,446 7 71 5.2 103.3 20.0 36 340 9.4 2 40
1965 CLE 14 289 1,544 17 67 5.3 110.3 20.6 34 328 9.6 4 32
Career 118 2,359 12,312 106 80 5.2 104.3 20.0 262 2,499 9.5 20 83

And Now! A quote from Jim Brown:

I'm not interested in trying to work on people's perceptions. I am who I am, and if you don't take the time to learn about that, then your perception is going to be your problem.