Jim Brown, NFL Legend, Actor, and Activist Dead at 87

Jim Brown has died at the age of 87. Brown was a Pro Football Hall of Famer, an acting icon, and a famous social activist – among other impressive accomplishments across his lifetime. His wife, Monique Brown made the official announcement, about Jim Brown’s passing on Instagram today: 

“It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my husband, Jim Brown. He passed peacefully last night at our LA home. To the world he was an activist, actor, and football star. To our family, he was a loving and wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts are broken…” –Monique Brown

Already, at the time of writing this (45 minutes after the announcement was posted) the amount of condolences coming in from prominent figures (Deion Sanders) and organizations (The NFL)  is a testament to how much Jim Brown meant to the world. 

Jim Brown was born “James Nathaniel Brown” in St. Simons Island, Georgia, in 1936. His father, Swinton Brown, was a boxer; his mother Theresa Brown was a homemaker. Brown’s grandmother had a heavy influence in raising him, and due to the small island community, plus his athletic skills, Brown grew up without having to confront some of the same oppressive forms of racism that many other black people of the time did (or so he thought). 

Athletics took Jim Brown to Long Island, NY, where he attended the Manhasset Secondary School and excelled in not only football, but basketball, track & field, lacrosse, and baseball. He moved on to Syracuse University as a sophomore in 1954, and by his senior year in 1956, he was a first-team All-American in a top contender for the Heisman Trophy. He also continued to excel at basketball, track, and lacrosse at the college level, achieving first-team All-American status in lacrosse during his senior year, in addition to football. In fact, Brown was such a milestone player of lacrosse, the rules of the game were changed so that players could simply hold their sticks and run, they had to keep their sticks in motion. If all that wasn’t enough, Brown also served, joining the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. 

Brown’s athletic achievements carried him to the NFL as a running back, where he shattered records for single-season and career rushing yards, as well as an MVP season where he led the league in touchdowns scored (17); he led the Cleveland Browns to a championship win in 1964, and made to the big game in his rookie (1957) and final (1965) seasons. During his nine years in the NFL Jim Brown was invited to the Pro Bowl every season he played; he also served in the United States Army Reserve, and started his acting career the same year he led the Browns to a championship win. To say that Jim Brown was a muti-hyphenated talent (long before the days it was a Hollywood career standard) would be an understatement. 

Jim Brown’s acting career would include the classic 1966 MGM film The Dirty Dozen, as well as a number of famous films in the 1970s blaxploitation genre, including Slaughter and Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off, and Three the Hard Way. Brown would appear less frequently (but no less effectively) playing up his own onscreen persona in the Wayans Brothers’ 1988 blaxploitation satire I’m Gonna Git You Sucka; Tim Burton’s sci-fi throwback serial Mars Attacks! (1996), and Oliver Stone’s NFL drama Any Given Sunday (1999).  Brown had his own controversies, via both social activism and multiple instances of assaults and/or domestic disputes, bringing a touch of infamy to his shining public persona as an athletic wonder, screen magnate, and even a sex symbol (posing for Playgirl in 1974). He also worked to start Amer-I-Can, a program that helps inner-city and prison youth caught up in gang life. He also served as an advisor to the Browns in various capacities in the 2000s and 2010s, and became part-owner of a Major League Lacrosse team (New York Lizards) in 2012. His social activism would continue through the end of his life. 

RIP Jim Brown. We send condolences to his friends, family, and legions of fans.