Jim Brown

[RoadKing]

Jim Brown, Syracuse U and Cleveland Browns great fullback, is gone at age 87. Perhaps the greatest running back of all times.

[Designer]

Yes-SIR!

And he acted in loads of movies too!

The Dirty Dozen comes to mind.

[DevilsFan]

He put "The Orange" on the map! RIP

[sgtcall]

He was a great running back for sure but I would argue that Herschel Walker was the greatest of all time for College Football. I could give the GOAT to Jim Brown for Pro Football.

[RoadKing]

He was a great running back for sure but I would argue that Herschel Walker was the greatest of all time for College Football. I could give the GOAT to Jim Brown for Pro Football.

And then, the name Jim Thorp presents itself.

[Herb]

He was a great running back for sure but I would argue that Herschel Walker was the greatest of all time for College Football. I could give the GOAT to Jim Brown for Pro Football.

And then, the name Jim Thorp presents itself.

I don't think that a designation "best of all time" can ever be made for any sport. You have to take into account available training, competition, events they participated in, and how good their team and coaches were.

I always look at each person/team for what they did in a specific time frame.

[sgtcall]

He was a great running back for sure but I would argue that Herschel Walker was the greatest of all time for College Football. I could give the GOAT to Jim Brown for Pro Football.

And then, the name Jim Thorp presents itself.

I don't think that a designation "best of all time" can ever be made for any sport. You have to take into account available training, competition, events they participated in, and how good their team and coaches were.

I always look at each person/team for what they did in a specific time frame.

This is true. I would assume that given the training and knowledge of today an athlete from the past would still be at the top of their sport today since the main thing they had back then was natural ability and drive. But if you compare the ability of the time to current athletes I think the competitors of today would generally win out. The one thing the guys of the past had that the new athletes don't have is toughness and they didn't let injuries stop them from playing. I once heard Terry Bradshaw say that most of the quarterbacks of today wouldn't have made it in the 70s because it was a different game that offered little, if any, protection to the QB. The game has changed over time so comparing the past to the present is almost impossible.

[Suzuki Johnny]

He was a great running back for sure but I would argue that Herschel Walker was the greatest of all time for College Football. I could give the GOAT to Jim Brown for Pro Football.

And then, the name Jim Thorp presents itself.

I don't think that a designation "best of all time" can ever be made for any sport. You have to take into account available training, competition, events they participated in, and how good their team and coaches were.

I always look at each person/team for what they did in a specific time frame.

This is true. I would assume that given the training and knowledge of today an athlete from the past would still be at the top of their sport today since the main thing they had back then was natural ability and drive. But if you compare the ability of the time to current athletes I think the competitors of today would generally win out. The one thing the guys of the past had that the new athletes don't have is toughness and they didn't let injuries stop them from playing. I once heard Terry Bradshaw say that most of the quarterbacks of today wouldn't have made it in the 70s because it was a different game that offered little, if any, protection to the QB. The game has changed over time so comparing the past to the present is almost impossible.

Not to take anything from Jim Brown's achievements which in my mind in the short span of his career he accomplished greatness.
Other running backs would achieve their own respective highs also.. Gale Sayers comes to mind.


I agree..

Put the equipment of today in Jack Nicklaus hands and he would have most likely be in possession of 30 or more major championships in Golf.
Other legends of golf would have won much more also. I include Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Raymond Floyd and many others in that group also.

Nicklaus was quoted as saying after watching young Tiger Woods hit the ball said "He plays a game I do not know"

And even before Jack's era they were players like Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson who won
11 consecutive tournaments, even that feat is unheard of in today's competition.

[sgtcall]

Rule changes through the years have also added to the on paper numbers for many athletes. For example in Football passing yards for a QB used to be from the line of scrimmage to the point of the reception, now they include the yards gained by the receiver after the catch. It's not that the QBs of today are throwing farther than the guys of the past it's just that a 5 yard pass and 40 yard run count as a 45 yard pass in today's game.

[RoadKing]

For years in the NFL the FB lined up as a set behind the QB and his function was as a constant powerful runner straight up the gut over center or off tackle. Jim Brown, Larry Czonka, Mark Van Eagan, Bronco Nagurski for examples. This FB no longer exists due to the expanded passing game, much to my chagrin as I always enjoyed watching straight ahead brute force by the interior offensive line and a powerful FB.

In the 50’s I was a fan of The New York Football Giants and our FB was Frank Gifford. A great staunch opponent was Cleveland and so I got to watch Jim Brown a lot. The collisions center field between Brown and center linebacker Sam Huff of the Giants are legendary. I watched a ton of pro ball in those days and no FB, before or since, remotely compared to Jim Brown for me. When I say greatest running back, I am also stacking him against a ton of stellar halfbacks who have played over the decades. I think that highly of Jim Brown.