TVXOHOF: FEBRUARY, 2024 - JIM BROWN, A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE

Last year we lost a man who is considered the greatest professional football player who ever played the game.  He also appeared in three incredibly powerful movies in the last three years of the 1960s:

• THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)
• ICE STATION ZEBRA (1968)
• 100 RIFLES (1969)

But he was also powerful voice in the civil rights movement.  And he was a fixture on the small screen as a talking head on shows geared to sports topics (not that those are qualifiers for induction into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.)

Even though he passed away last year in May, I decided he shouldn’t be tossed into the Hall as merely a memorial induction.  Instead, his ceremony deserves to be the February showcase in honor of Black History Month, especially since he played a big role in that….

JIM BROWN

From Wikipedia:
James Nathaniel Brown (February 17, 1936 – May 18, 2023) was an American football fullback, civil rights activist, and actor. He played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one of the greatest running backs of all time, as well as one of the greatest players in NFL history, Brown was a Pro Bowl invitee every season he was in the league, was recognized as the AP NFL Most Valuable Player three times, and won an NFL championship with the Browns in 1964. He led the league in rushing yards in eight out of his nine seasons, and by the time he retired, he held most major rushing records. In 2002, he was named by The Sporting News as the greatest professional football player ever.

Brown earned unanimous All-America honors playing college football at Syracuse University, where he was an all-around player for the Syracuse Orangemen football team. The team later retired his number 44 jersey, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. He is also widely considered one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time, and the Premier Lacrosse League MVP Award is named in his honor. Brown also excelled in basketball and track and field.

In his professional career, Brown carried the ball 2,359 times for 12,312 rushing yards and 106 touchdowns, which were all records when he retired. He averaged 104.3 rushing yards per game, and is the only player in NFL history to average over 100 rushing yards per game for his career. Brown was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. He was named to the NFL's 50th, 75th, and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, comprising the best players in NFL history. Brown was honored at the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship as the greatest college football player of all time. His number 32 jersey is retired by the Browns.

Shortly before the end of his football career, Brown became an actor. He retired at the peak of his football career to pursue an acting career. He obtained 53 acting credits and several leading roles throughout the 1970s. He has been described as Hollywood's first black action hero and his role in the 1969 film "100 Rifles" made cinematic history for featuring interracial love scenes.

Brown was one of the few athletes, and among the most prominent African Americans, to speak out on racial issues as the civil rights movement was growing in the 1950s. He participated in the Cleveland Summit after Muhammad Ali faced imprisonment for refusing to enter the draft for the Vietnam War, and he founded the Black Economic Union to help promote economic opportunities for minority-owned businesses. Brown later launched a foundation focused on diverting at-risk youth from violence through teaching them life skills, through which he facilitated the Watts truce between rival street gangs in Los Angeles.

Brown died of natural causes, at the age of 87 on May 18, 2023, at his home in Los Angeles. He died with his wife by his side. Tributes from the sports world and beyond soon poured in:

• Former NFL running back Barry Sanders posting on Twitter that "You can't underestimate the impact Jim Brown had on the NFL."
  
  
• Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leader in rushing yards, wrote "He is and was a true legend in sports and in the community using his platform to help others."
  
  
• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said "Jim Brown was a gifted athlete — one of the most dominant players to ever step on any athletic field — but also a cultural figure who helped promote change."
  
  
• LeBron James, an NBA star, wrote in tribute that "We lost a hero today. Rest in Paradise to the legend Jim Brown. I hope every Black athlete takes the time to educate themselves about this incredible man and what he did to change all of our lives. We all stand on your shoulders Jim Brown."
  
  
• Barack Obama, the 44th president and the first Black president of the United States, wrote, "I was too young to remember Jim Brown's playing days, but I knew his legacy. One of the greatest football players ever, he was also an actor and activist – speaking out on civil rights, and pushing other black athletes to do the same."

Here are the appearances he made in Earth Prime-Time as a member of the League of Themselves which qualified him for membership:

1964
THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW
Episode S18.E13

O'Bservation - Since Ed Sullivan and 'The Ed Sullivan Show' are members of the TVXOHOF, I felt it should be included (unlike many other variety programs.)

1965
VALENTINE'S DAY
FOR ME AND MY SAL

Valentine enlists the aid of his former college friend, professional footballer Jim Brown. It seems their aging English professor, Charles Marks, is lonely and hasn't slept well in fifty years. With Jim's help, Val hopes to reunite Mr. Marks with his long lost love. [IMDb]

1967
HOLLYWOOD SQUARES

1967, 1969, 1973
THE TONIGHT SHOW with JOHNNY CARSON

1991
GOOD SPORTS
THE BIGGER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY HIT

Gayle (Farrah Fawcett) wants to tackle football's Jim Brown after he runs through Missy (Christine Dunford) during an interview. Bruce Jenner also plays himself. [TV GUIDE]

1997
LIVING SINGLE
LIVING SINGLE UNDERCOVER

Synclaire tries to help Overton cope with the Cleveland Browns move to Baltimore. [IMDb]

1998
BETWEEN BROTHERS
KUNG FOOLS

An article by Charles (Kadeem Hardison) angers former NFL star Jim Brown (guest starring as himself). [Rotten Tomatoes]

O'Bservation - Jim Brown's fictional televersion did a 'Hallmark Hall of Fame' special with Susan Lucci (who should probably be inducted into the TVXOHOF as a member of the League of Themselves.)

2000
ARLI$$
YOU CAN PICK YOUR FRIENDS...

Arliss attended the Jim Brown Film Festival because Jim was his client.  Jim received an award at the event from Leonard Maltin.

2003
THE TONIGHT SHOW with JAY LENO
Episode 11.218

O'Bservation - Both 'The Tonight Show' and Jay Leno are members of the TVXOHOF.

2014
LARRY KING NOW

O'Bservation - The reason I'm including this talking head appearance is because Larry King is also a member of the TVXOHOF.  His appearance on an episode of 'Larry King Live' could also be included for the same reason.

Welcome to the TVXOHOF, Mr. Brown….