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Table of Contents
Jim Brown is a former All-American football player, record-holding fullback player, sports analyst, and actor. He played for the Cleveland Browns and is considered to be a star running back. He also earned an election to the Professional Football Hall of Fame and started his acting career in 1966.
See the fact file below for more information on the Jim Brown or alternatively, you can download our 24-page Jim Brown worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
BIOGRAPHY
- James Nathaniel Brown, or more popularly known as Jim Brown, was born on St. Simons Island, off the southern coast of Georgia, the United States, on February 17, 1936. He is the son of Theresa Brown and Swinton Brown, who was a professional boxer.
- Two weeks after Theresa gave birth to Jim Brown, his father abandoned them. Brown’s mother immediately departed from his life and worked as a maid in Manhasset, New York, leaving him in the hands of Brown’s great-grandmother.
- At eight years old, Brown’s mother sent him to come live with her in New York. Brown did a great job quickly adapting to his new home through athletics. He excelled in every sport, impressing several coaches.
- However, Brown was fascinated by playing football and thrived on the football field at the Manhasset High School. He quickly became famous and was elected chief justice of high school court and a member of the honor society for academic achievement.
- After graduating high school, Brown was highly recruited for several colleges and universities. He chose New York’s Syracuse University and hoped to earn a full athletic scholarship.
- During his college career, Brown dominated and excelled both on the basketball court and football field. He also ran track and became a talented lacrosse player. Brown also earned ten varsity letters and even qualified for the Olympic games after the 1956 decathlon competition, where he placed fifth nationally.
- Brown focused on playing football and played the running back position. He quickly earned national attention for his exceptionally strong explosive play. During his senior year’s final regular-season game, Brown finished his college career having 197 yards, scored six touchdowns, and kicked seven extra points.
BROWN’S PROFESSIONAL CAREER
- After graduating in 1957, the Cleveland Browns chose Brown with the sixth overall pick in the National Football League Draft. Although Brown had some difficulty adjusting to the new competition, he led the league in rushing yards with 942 and became the league’s Rookie of the Year.
- For the following seasons, Brown became the standard-bearer for all NFL running backs. Whenever defenses were geared up toward stopping the ground game, Brown always bulldozed his way past the opposition.
- He accumulated remarkable season totals. In 1958, he had 1,527 yards, 1,329 yards in 1959, 1,257 yards in 1960, 1,408 yards in 1961, 1,863 yards in 1963, 1,446 yards in 1964, and 1,544 yards in 1965.
- 1962 was Brown’s only down year when he only rushed 996 yards. It was the one season where he failed to lead the league in yards in his brilliant but brief football career.
- In 1964, he led the Cleveland Browns to the NFL Championship, where the club won the title with a score of 27-0. Brown ran for 114 yards during the game.
- Brown was having a significant and exceptional career in football. However, he saw a different life for himself outside the sport. Before the start of the 1966 season, Brown stunned the sports world after announcing his retirement.
- After announcing his retirement, Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
BROWN’S MOVIE CAREER
- Brown was at the age of thirty years old when he decided to retire from playing football. He decided to spend his post-football life doing movies and being an actor. Although several people doubted that he would stay out from the game for long, Brown left football for good and appeared in more than 30 films.
- These films include the ‘100 Rifles’ in 1969 and ‘The Dirty Dozen’ in 1967.
- Brown’s later films are in ‘Mars Attacks!’ in 1996 and ‘Any Given Sunday’ in 1999, where Brown played the role of a football coach.
BROWN’S CONTROVERSIES AND ACTIVISM
- While having acting ambitions, Brown decided to use his fame and influence in the service of African American causes. During the 1960s, he decided to support Black-owned businesses to create the Negro Industrial Economic Union.
- In the late 1980s, Brown was able to start the Amer-I-Can program. The program aimed to turn the lives around of young gang members. He also became fiercely critical of black superstar athletes during that time for not being better role models, including Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
- However, in 1985 and 1986, Brown was followed by trouble. Brown was charged with sexual battery and assault, and rape, but the charges were dropped after an inconsistent testimony of a 33-year-old woman. The following year, he was accused of throwing his ex-girlfriend off a second-story balcony.
LATER YEARS AND HONORS
- From 2005-2010, Brown served as the executive adviser to the Browns and was later named the Cleveland Browns’ special adviser. In 2016, a statue was built to honor him outside Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium.
- In 2002, The Sporting News named Brown the greatest football player of all time. In January 2020, Brown was recognized as the top college football player ever during halftime of the college football national championship game.
Jim Brown Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Jim Brown across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Jim Brown worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Jim Brown who is a former All-American football player, record-holding fullback player, sports analyst, and actor. He played for the Cleveland Browns and is considered to be a star running back. He also earned an election to the Professional Football Hall of Fame and started his acting career in 1966.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Jim Brown Facts
- Brown: Profile Writing
- The Timeline of Brown
- Questions of Jim
- Filling the Action
- The Bulldozer
- Jumbled Tackle
- The Football Coach
- Match the Football Vocab
- The Wise Words of Jim
- Athletes / Actors
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Link will appear as Jim Brown Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 5, 2021
Use With Any Curriculum
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