Jim Brown, 87
Jim Brown lived many lives: football icon, movie star, and social activist.
In all of them, he did it with a focus and drive that made him a legend.
Regarded as one of the greatest football players who ever lived, Brown became a Hall of Famer despite only playing in the NFL for nine seasons. But in that time he shattered records as a running back, won MVP three times, and won the NFL championship in 1964 with the Cleveland Browns.
After his shocking retirement he went onto movies, starring in over 30, with standouts being “The Dirty Dozen,” “Three The Hard Way,” “He Got Game,” and “Any Given Sunday.”
Brown was also a voice for equality throughout his life.
Most famously, in 1967, he organized a meeting with top Black athletes in Cleveland to support Muhammad Ali’s opposition of the Vietnam war. The meet included the likes of Bill Russell and Lew Alcindor, who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Brown died on May 18 of natural causes.