Any conversation about who is the best professional soccer player could go in several different directions. How many ways are there to judge who is the “best”? Which player has been on the winningest team, or perhaps the player with the most amazing personal stats?
Or you could just try to find the one player who stood out overall and became a legend. An example of such a perfect player is Jim Brown.
One of the most amazing things about Jim Brown is that he only played in the NFL for 9 seasons and yet he is still talked about 42 years after his retirement. Even in just 9 seasons, he racked up an incredible 12,312 rushing yards (an NFL record at the time). Brown also had the single-season rushing record with 1,863 yards. Add to that more records for rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns, and all-purpose yardage.
Even after all these decades, he remains the Cleveland Browns record holder for rushing yards in a single season (1,863). No other franchise in the league has a record that has stood that long. Jim Brown also received the league MVP award 3 times during his time with Cleveland.
What made Brown a spectacular player was that he was more than just a good football player. He was an excellent athlete in every way. Physically, he was definitely a gifted player, but he also had the mental capacity to learn and overcome any athletic challenge thrown his way.
His ability was not overlooked. When he graduated from his Long Island high school, he received 42 college scholarship offers due to his athletic performance. He settled on Syracuse University, where he earned All-American honors in lacrosse and soccer.
Many of Jim Brown’s statistics have been surpassed by other NFL players since his retirement, mainly because Brown only played nine seasons. Most runners today have races longer than that, which gives them a statistical advantage when you look at the overall numbers. That does not mean that his talent is greater.
He retired in 1966, leaving the game while it was still in its prime. Unfortunately, that means his name won’t always be on the NFL’s list of all-time great running backs. However, Jim Brown must be considered one of the greatest players in football history.