Why doesn't Jim Brown get the recognition he deserves?

Question

I put Jim Brown as the second greatest athlete of all time, behind only Michael Jordan. And I may even be wrong. Brown very well could be #1.

*He led the NFL in rushing 8 of his 9 seasons. Jordan did not lead the NBA in scoring like that.

He was the fastest and the strongest player on the field.

*He retired at age 29!!! For good! 29!!!!!!!!!

For the first couple years he was in the NFL they only played 12 games a year, not 16.

His yards per carry average will NEVER BE TOUCHED.

* He played 5 sports in college.
Football- Duh.

Basketball- once scored 50 points in a game, and that was back when scoring 50 was like scoring 70 today.

Baseball- received contact offers from the Yankees.

Track & Field

Lacrosse

* When Dick Butkus heard that Jim Brown played lacrosse in college he said the following: "My God! They let that man run around with a stick and hit people?"

Answer 1

He's just one of many athletes who don't get the recognition they deserve. Warren Spahn, in my estimation was the greatest left handed pitcher ever but everyone talks about Koufax and Drysdale and when you mention Spahnie they say who? Spahn won 363 games and was the only pitcher ever to have 3 or more consecutive 20 win seasons in three different decades - 40's 50's & 60's. When he pitched for the Boston Braves he teamed with Johnny Sain to do what they said couldn't be done - they each won two to beat the Yankees four straight in the world series. He later pitched the Braves to a world series title again in Milwaukee. In the 50's he had six straight seasons with 20 or more wins. Casey Stengel probably said it best when he said, "If I had one game I just had to win I'd want Spahn pitching, he just knows how to win".

Answer 2

I think you're pushing it a little to say that Jim Brown doesn't get the recognition he deserves. No other player of his era is as revered in football. Johnny Unitas may come close but other than those two - no one, not Starr, not Butkus, not any of the seemingly endless line of great players from the late 50's - 60's who are in the HOF- get the credit that they deserve for being great players for any era not just the one that they played in. Sure they're still seen as great but when compared to more recent players, they tend to be slighted. That's not true with Jim Brown who many still consider to be the best RB of all-time and even gets a lot of support as the best player to ever set foot on an NFL field.



Now I know you're saying he's slighted as the greatest athlete (not just football player) but I don't think anyone thinks of football players like that because breaking a tackle and/or dishing out a hard hit or stiff arm aren't seen as athletic in the same way that running fast and jumping high/far are. In that regard, I would say many great football players and probably even hockey players haven't gotten their just due as far as being considered "good athletes". Then again, how often are athletes compared in this way across sports - honestly except for ESPN's 50 greatest athletes - there's really not a lot of discussion of this sort of thing so I don't know that Jim Brown really has been slighted. Don't get me wrong, I think what Jim Brown accomplished is simply amazing and will stand for all-time as the bar by which all RB's are measured. I just don't think he lacks recognition because there's never a time when great football players are mentioned that his name isn't brought up.

Answer 3

From what i have seen The Macho Man is really underrated and largely forgotten which is a real shame because he was a real talent. The reason Legends from the 80's and 90's are remembered is exposure through the Hall of Fame and that is a big reason for Savage being lost in history, whatever the reason for him not being there he is hurt by that. How many young TNA fans know Jay Lethals gimmick is a copy of The Macho Man? It's a shame because he was a huge star and really talented, that's what happens when you fall out with the man that has created a generation of fans that won't watch anything other than a watered down half wrestling half soap opera show or learn about the history of the business!

Answer 4

Where are you living that Jim Brown doesn't get recognition. He was ranked the #4 athlete of the 20th century on ESPNs SportsCentury. I've never heard a conversation about the best running back ever that didn't include him on a very, very short list. He is widely recognized to have been the single most dominant player of his era.



Am I missing some list or some study that doesn't include Jim Brown? He's Jim freakin' Brown! He's probably the greatest player in NFL history.



Are you just a Brown's fan working out your martyr complex? You guys whine about everything.



*edit*

btw

Butkus' rookie season was 1965. Brown's last season was 1965. The Bears and the Browns didn't even play in 1965.

Answer 5

He is the greatest of all time, but he left in his prime and alot of people don't like that. He was smart to leave. Most look at an athlete as the greatest if they play out their careers. Look at Barry Sanders, he could have played 3 or 4 more years and put the rushing title so far out of reach, nobody could catch it. Jim Brown could have done the same thing. He could have played 5 or 6 more years and maybe got the Browns to one of the first Superbowls.

Answer 6

My guess would be because he is from a different era. What do you expect when people have such a short attention span now that they lose interest about a game during the highlight reel. Also its hard to compare athletes from different sports because of the different skills in each sport. Maybe Jim Brown is the best all time athlete but if he's playing Micheal Jordan 1 on 1 I would bet on M.J. all day or Wayne Greski at hockey you have to go with Wayne.



Also its hard to compare 2 players from different eras in the sport. Different rules, different season lengths, even different equipment makes it hard to determine who is the best.

Answer 7

he retired because he had no records left to break...he already owned every record that u could imagine...btw most lacrosse experts say he was the greatest lacrosse player that ever lived...he is perhaps the best running back ever the only person even close is barry sanders...but no hes not up there with michael jordan and the other great athletes of all time...also...the question you should be asking is why doesnt oscar robertson get the recognition he deserves???...the man averaged a triple double for over 5 years...AVERAGED...lebron james my ***

Answer 8

Simple:



Jim Brown was a superstar before the days of ESPN & the highlight reel. Anyone who saw him play recognized him as one of the best, if not THE BEST athlete in sports history. But, because of a lack of quality game footage suitable for the ESPN crowd he is often over looked. Also, given that he played in Cleveland instead of a top market like NY or Chicago, he did not recieve nearly as much media coverage as he deserved.

Answer 9

Well to me he played in a era where I wouldn't have even considered football at the professional level back then. Jim Brown was bigger and faster and better than everyone because there weren't that many athletes on the field. Honestly if you took Jim Brown and placed him in the NFL now where players are vastly bigger and faster, he wouldn't be athletically superior like he was back then. He was only 6'2'' 232 and he wasn't that fast. I don't think he'd even be able to put up LT like numbers with the football the way it is now.

Answer 10

1. Bo Jackson

2. Jim Brown

Answer 11

yeah he's a great athlete and nobody said he wasn't, but in my opinion jackie robinson was a better athlete and is right behind mike. nobody ever said he wasn't a great athlete. you want great? i'll give you great try Darrell Green running a 4.2 at the age of 40 and was the fastest guy on the redskins. that team had champ bailey and deion sanders. to of the fastest guys ever

Answer 12

i think cause back then football was a game nothing fancy or to big , just a game and now it's a big money business , if he was playing right now , he would be a superstar, he would be doing all kinds of commercials, he would have shoes named after him , he would be in commercials with Jared from Subway and not to mention those Campbell soup commercials

Answer 13

one reason is that he left the game to early... he could have played another ten years... ever see him play lacrosse??? he was a bad azz player i mean terror...

Answer 14

Your post has convinced me. I don't know he doesn't get the recognition either.