Jim Brown: Where is the Manhasset legend now?
MANHASSET, N.Y. (BVM) — The Cleveland Browns moved from the AAFC to the NFL in 1950. They have won one Super Bowl in their franchise’s 72 seasons in the league. It’s no accident that it coincided with the legendary career of Manhasset High School alum Jim Brown.
The Hall of Fame running back is now 86 years old and largely out of the news cycle, but his past accomplishments on and off the gridiron have made him an unforgettable part of American sports and pop culture history.
Brown was born on February 17, 1936, on St. Simons Island just off the coast of Georgia. After spending his early years living with his grandmother, Brown moved to Manhasset to live with his mother when he was eight years old. As a youth athlete, he participated in football, track, lacrosse, baseball, and basketball.
While a member of the Manhasset High School football team his senior year, he averaged 14.9 yards per carry. This caught the attention of in-state school Syracuse University which he later attended.
A basketball, lacrosse, and football star at Syracuse, Brown gained recognition for his ability to excel in multiple sports. Many thought, including himself, that lacrosse was Brown’s best sport. He was even named an All-American as a senior and was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Still, it was his football career that took him to the next level. In his senior season, he played just eight games. Brown still managed to rush for 986 yards for a school-record 6.2 yards per carry and was named a first-team All-American.
In the 1957 NFL Draft, Brown was selected sixth overall by the Cleveland Browns. Immediately making an impact, Brown was awarded his first NFL MVP during his rookie season which included a 237-yard rushing performance that wouldn’t be topped for 17 years.
By the end of his nine-year career, Brown earned four MVP awards, a Super Bowl ring, and countless records of which some still remain today. He averaged 104.3 yards per game in his time in the NFL. No running back before or since has averaged over 100 yards a game.
Later, in 1971, Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He retired from the game of football before turning 30 following another MVP season in 1965. However, his time in the spotlight was far from over.
His acting career began in 1964 with the role of Buffalo Soldier in the movie Rio Conchos. His next movie was Dirty Dozen in 1966. The filming schedule for Dirty Dozen caused Brown to miss part of NFL training camp and eventually led to his retirement from football while on the set of the movie. His most recent appearance came in Draft Day released in 2014. In total, Brown was credited with 58 acting roles and an award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in the 1970 film El Condor.
As Brown aged, he became less interested in acting roles but kept his interest in the entertainment industry. In 1978, Brown joined CBS as a color analyst with a team consisting of Vin Scully and George Allen. He later broadcasted for boxing and pay-per-view UFC events.
After 17 years of retirement from football, Brown briefly returned to the NFL to attempt to keep his career rushing yards record from Franco Harris. While Brown didn’t play a single snap in his return to the league, Harris never did pass his record.
Brown has kept close with the NFL. In 2008, Brown was named an executive advisor for the Cleveland Browns. In 2013, his position changed to a special advisor role with the team.
Brown has been involved in his fair share of controversy throughout his life, but he still has made an effort to positively impact the community. While still in the NFL, Brown founded the Negro Industrial Economic Union which was later renamed to Black Economic Union. The BEU allowed black athletes to support and establish black-run businesses.
Once the BEU shut down a few years later, Brown moved on to found Vital Issues in 1986. The new program aimed to teach life management skills and personal growth methods to prison inmates and inner-city gang members. Later, Vital Issues was rebranded to Amer-I-Can.
Today, Brown continues to be hands-on with Amer-I-Can. Earlier this year, he attended the Haute Living Super Bowl event held by the Amer-I-Can foundation which auctioned off art to support the cause.
Jim Brown still holds numerous NFL records. He led the NFL in rushing yards for 8 seasons, led in touchdowns for 5 seasons, and was the quickest to reach 12,000 career rushing yards with 115 games played. Manhasset’s greatest athlete can still be seen occasionally attending Browns games and meeting longtime fans.
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