Whenever a debate arises over who is the greatest running back of all time in the NFL, names like Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith, and Bo Jackson are often brought up, just to name a few. One of the most overlooked players in all of this discussion is none other than Long Island’s Jim Brown. What makes it even worse for Brown is that his stats are better than his counterparts, leading you to believe that the off-field drama has led people to overlook Brown and his achievements. of the.

Jim Brown was born in Georgia but moved to Manhasset, New York shortly after his birth. Brown eventually attended high school at Manhasset High School earning thirteen varsity letters in football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, and track and field. After his high school career, he attended Syracuse University and earned All-American status in football and lacrosse. Brown was not only an excellent football player in his early years, but he was also a tremendous athlete in general. Brown began his career with the Cleveland Browns rushing for 942 yards and 9 TDs, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. Brown continued to dominate the NFL for 8 more seasons, amassing a career total of 12,312 rushing yards, 15,459 combined total yards for a combined 126 TDs, statistics that easily dwarfed current records from the time.

Brown qualified for the Pro Bowl team in every season of his career, nine times. Top ten stats only held up after the 1960 season, leaving Brown with six seasons to qualify in the top ten. He led the NFL in rushing four of those seasons, led the NFL in rushing in five seasons, led in TDs twice and was third on four other occasions. He was also the leader in total yards on four separate occasions. Long story short, for Jim Brown, in each of the six seasons after 1960, he was in the top four in every rushing category in every season. Jim Brown is the all-time leader in YPC (yards per carry) with 5.2 YPC; in 1963, he rushed for an absolutely ridiculous 6.4 yards per carry, virtually unheard of in professional football. With a perfect combination of finesse and power, Jim Brown had the ability to pass or disrupt his defenders, yet he still had the strength to pummel his opponents.

The only other running back in NFL history to compare to Jim Brown is Barry Sanders. In 35 fewer career games played, Jim Brown had 7 more rushing TDs than Barry, and 10 more receiving TDs. Jim Brown played every game of his career and never missed a start for the Cleveland Browns. While Barry Sanders didn’t miss as much time as a RB, he missed seven games of action in his entire career. Brown reached the 17-TD plateau twice in his career, once in a 12-game season and once in a 14-game season. The closest Sanders came to that mark was 16 TDs in a 16-game season. Also, in one of those 17 touchdown seasons, Jim Brown averaged 5.9 YPC, while Sanders could only average 4.5 YPC, which is a half-yard shy of his career average.

Jim Brown was able to increase his TD production as well as maintain an incredibly high number of yards per carry; the same cannot be said for other brokers. Despite playing in far fewer games than his predecessors, Brown still holds a career high for yards per carry (5.2) and total seasons leading the NFL in all-purpose yards. (five seasons, 1958-1961, 1964) Jim Brown of Georgia, but most notably Manhasset, NY, set milestones that are difficult to reach today, even with the increase in the number of games, as well as an increase in technology and medicine that allows players to play longer than ever. While some may remember him for his antics off the field, like his Playgirl magazine centerfold debut, let’s not overlook the incredible accomplishments of the greatest runner of all time, who grew up in our own backyard.