ON THE MARK.

WHO WAS YOUR FOOTBALL HERO?

My favorite football player was Jim Brown.   I thought it was cool that he played for the Cleveland "Browns".  Jim Brown appeared on our black and white television every Sunday afternoon from September to December.  Sometimes the games began at 1 pm.  Sometimes they were on at 4 pm.  There were no night games. The games were always on Channel 4 out of Buffalo N.Y.  WBEN-TV  The Cleveland games were always broadcast by Frank Glieber and Warren Lahr (Son of Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion from "The Wizard of Oz".)  The home games were played at Municipal Stadium, capacity 83,000. 
      The NFL was a run-based league back then. 5 yards and a cloud of dust.   Brown led the league in rushing every season but one during his nine year career.  He set the record of 1,863 yards in one season, that being a 14 GAME SEASON.  In his first four seasons, the schedule consisted of just 12 games.   He had no peers.  When he was tackled, he always took an extra few seconds before getting up and trotting back to the huddle.  Some said he was feigning injury, but I knew better.  He was conserving energy.  Brown had breakaway speed when he needed it, and bull-like strength when he required it.  I can recall seeing him run out of bounds twice in one series, letting up instead of lowering his shoulder for an extra yard or two.  On the third occasion, he slowed up as if he were going to step out of bounds, and then accelerated, put his head down and ran right over the defensive back and rumbled the remaining yards to paydirt.   He wanted defenders to remember how much it hurt if they (tried to) tackle him.
       When Brown scored a touchdown, there was no outward celebration.  He gently tossed the football to the official.  There was no spiking.  No leaping into the stands.  He was just doing his job.  Like the homerun hitters or goal scorers of that era, a simple nod of acknowledgement was enough.  He accepted the congratulations of his teammates in an almost robot-like fashion.  He did not consider himself a star.  The offensive line of Hoaglin, Wooten, Hickerson, Clark and Schafrath did their job to spring him, and Brown just did what came naturally.   He may have been the greatest natural athlete of all time, with apologies to Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, etc.     Brown did, after all, excel in basketball, track and, most of all, lacrosse.  He was an All-American lacrosse player at Syracuse University, and was a two year starter on the Orangemen basketball team.  He also earned a letter in track.
     Along with Sandy Koufax and Barry Sanders, Jim Brown is one of the few athletes to leave the game at a young age, 29, and at his athletic peak.  He likely could've played 5 more seasons in the NFL, but chose instead to take up acting full time.  He retired a long time ago, in 1966.  Having gotten a chance to see him play, in his prime is something I will cherish.