Jim Brown has Passed Away

[oldjudge]

I was lucky enough to spend an evening with Jim Brown in the mid-1990s and I can say he was one of the finest, most genuine, people I have ever met. After his career as arguably the greatest football player ever he enjoyed a successful acting career and then spent many years working for civil rights and ending gang violence. Not many athletes make an impact on society once they get off the field—Jim Brown did. He will be missed.

[oldjudge]

.

[GaryPassamonte]

He was a man amongst boys in his football playing days and was also a great lacrosse player. He is on my Mt Rushmore of greatest athletes of all time. RIP.

[BeanTown]

One of GOATs of sports. RIP Jim Brown

[jingram058]

Oh wow. Sad. I have an old 1960s spiral notebook of baseball and pro football photos and clippings from magazines and newspapers. Great photo of #32 in it. I sent it with a prepaid Priority Mail large envelope to him via the "Amer-I-Can" foundation. He signed the photo, and sent the notebook back to me, gratis. He will always be my all-time favorite. RIP, sir, you truly were the greatest.

[TMKenKen]

In my opinion, the greatest of all time

[BobbyStrawberry]

Such an inspiration on and off the field. RIP

[SyrNy1960]

Being from Syracuse myself, have always been a big fan! Great player! RIP 🙏🏻

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Such an inspiration on and off the field. RIP

Well Said Inspiring on and off the field

[Peter_Spaeth]

Once upon a time, football was primarily a running game played on grass, and nobody did it better.

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by TMKenKen

In my opinion, the greatest of all time

Indeed, he is. I was lucky to have been able to see him play in 1965 against the Giants at Yankee Stadium. I've never seen a better running back.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by commishbob

Indeed, he is. I was lucky to have been able to see him play in 1965 against the Giants at Yankee Stadium. I've never seen a better running back.

I've read about an exchange, maybe it never really took place, between Huff and Brown.

On play one, Huff stops Brown cold, and tells him Brown, you stink.

On play two, Brown runs for like a 50 yard TD, turns around, and yells, hey Huff, how do I smell from here?

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I've read about an exchange, maybe it never really took place, between Huff and Brown.

On play one, Huff stops Brown cold, and tells him Brown, you stink.

On play two, Brown runs for like a 50 yard TD, turns around, and yells, hey Huff, how do I smell from here?

LOL Sounds like him. He caught a TD and threw one in the game my father took me to.

[2dueces]

Greatest running back of all time.

[kkkkandp]

I remember you as a bigger guy, Jay!

Back in the day when the Giants and the Browns met regularly, the Brown-Huff encounters were classics!

He was a unique individual!

RIP

[The Detroit Collector]

an absolute legend. R.I.P

[tedzan]

I enjoyed watching Jim play Football, and and I enjoyed him as an Actor.
Especially in the movie Dirty Dozen.

May God Bless your Soul, Jim....and comfort your Family and friends.

TED Z
.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by tedzan

I enjoyed watching Jim play Football, and and I enjoyed him as an Actor.
Especially in the movie Dirty Dozen.

May God Bless your Soul, Jim....and comfort your Family and friends.

TED Z
.

Or the 1972 classic Black Gunn with the great Deacon Jones.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dYUZ9u...VhY29uIGpvbmVz

[jefferyepayne]

RIP Mr. Brown. One of the all-time great players and the GOAT running back.



jeff

[Exhibitman]

GOAT. RIP.

1958 Team Issue

[commishbob]

'64 Philly Gum jim Brown with what, legend has it, is his gold Cadillac in the background. Nearly all the Browns cards in this set use photos in front of that same fence with the Caddy in the background.

Screenshot (20230521-191830).jpg

(Not my card, I recently sold off my Philly Gum sets)

[atx840]

Not sure why his history of domestic violence is being ignored.

Brown was arrested at least seven times for assault, mainly against women.[94] During the era when the incidents occured, prominent men were usually not scrutinized for reported offenses against women.[41] He was never found guilty of a major crime;[41] in most of the cases, the women refused to press charges after calling the police.[95] In 1965, Brown was arrested in his hotel room for assault and battery against an 18-year-old Brenda Ayres; he was later acquitted of those charges.[96] A year later, he fought paternity allegations that he fathered her child.[97]

In 1968, Brown was charged with assault with intent to commit murder after model Eva Bohn-Chin was found beneath the balcony of Brown's second-floor apartment.[98] The charges were later dismissed after Bohn-Chin refused to cooperate with the prosecutor's office. Brown was also ordered to pay a $300 fine for striking a deputy sheriff involved in the investigation during the incident. In Brown's autobiography, he stated that Bohn-Chin was angry and jealous over an affair he had been having with Gloria Steinem, and this argument is what led to the "misunderstanding with the police".[99]

Brown in 2000
In 1970, Brown was found not guilty of assault and battery, the charges stemming from a road-rage incident that had occurred in 1969.[100] In 1975, Brown was convicted of misdemeanor battery for beating and choking his golfing partner, Frank Snow. He was sentenced to one day in jail, two years' probation, and a fine of $500.[101][102] In 1985, Brown was charged with raping a 33-year-old woman.[103] The charges were later dismissed.[104] In 1986, he was arrested for assaulting his fiancée Debra Clark.[105] Clark refused to press charges, and he was released.[106]

In 1999, Brown was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats toward his wife Monique. According to Brown, "The only time [we] ever have an argument is during [her menstrual period]". Later that year, he was found guilty of vandalism for smashing her car with a shovel.[107] He was sentenced to three years' probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and 400 hours of community service or 40 hours on a work crew along with a $1,800 fine.[108] Brown ignored the terms of his sentence and in 2000 was sentenced to six months in jail, which he began serving in 2002 after refusing the court-ordered counseling and community service.[109] He was released after three months.[110][111]

"There is no excuse for violence", said Brown in 2015.[49] "There is never a justification for anyone to impose themselves on someone else. And it will always be incorrect when it comes to a man and a woman, regardless of what might have happened. You need to be man enough to take the blow. That is always the best way. Do not put your hands on a woman

[Eric72]

Condolences to the family. The passing of a sports legend is also the passing of a person; someone about whom others cared quite deeply, regardless of the association to athletics.


# # #


On a note related to Jim Brown, something appeared on my Facebook feed that I found noteworthy.

One of the vintage card groups had a post which I'll paraphrase here. Someone was calling for a moratorium on the sale of Jim Brown cards. They cited "respect" as the reason. Their recommended time frame was one week.

Nobody in the group should sell any Jim Brown cards there for a week, out of respect.

I found the notion curious. What would such a thing accomplish? Is this a usual and customary response to an athlete's passing? It might be; I'm not sure.

In the wake (no pun intended) of an athlete's passing, I've seen asking prices for their cards suddenly double, triple, or more. Some (many) find the practice distasteful. I get that. Still, if people are buying X card at Y dollars, should sellers be shamed into not selling it?

From the other side of the equation, look at things from a buyer's point of view. Imagine someone wanted a Jim Brown rookie...but couldn't find one anywhere. It's almost a Yogi-ism. Where can I find a Jim Brown? Oh, nobody's selling them right now; demand is at an all-time high.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by atx840

Not sure why his history of domestic violence is being ignored.

Brown was arrested at least seven times for assault, mainly against women.[94] During the era when the incidents occured, prominent men were usually not scrutinized for reported offenses against women.[41] He was never found guilty of a major crime;[41] in most of the cases, the women refused to press charges after calling the police.[95] In 1965, Brown was arrested in his hotel room for assault and battery against an 18-year-old Brenda Ayres; he was later acquitted of those charges.[96] A year later, he fought paternity allegations that he fathered her child.[97]

In 1968, Brown was charged with assault with intent to commit murder after model Eva Bohn-Chin was found beneath the balcony of Brown's second-floor apartment.[98] The charges were later dismissed after Bohn-Chin refused to cooperate with the prosecutor's office. Brown was also ordered to pay a $300 fine for striking a deputy sheriff involved in the investigation during the incident. In Brown's autobiography, he stated that Bohn-Chin was angry and jealous over an affair he had been having with Gloria Steinem, and this argument is what led to the "misunderstanding with the police".[99]

Brown in 2000
In 1970, Brown was found not guilty of assault and battery, the charges stemming from a road-rage incident that had occurred in 1969.[100] In 1975, Brown was convicted of misdemeanor battery for beating and choking his golfing partner, Frank Snow. He was sentenced to one day in jail, two years' probation, and a fine of $500.[101][102] In 1985, Brown was charged with raping a 33-year-old woman.[103] The charges were later dismissed.[104] In 1986, he was arrested for assaulting his fiancée Debra Clark.[105] Clark refused to press charges, and he was released.[106]

In 1999, Brown was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats toward his wife Monique. According to Brown, "The only time [we] ever have an argument is during [her menstrual period]". Later that year, he was found guilty of vandalism for smashing her car with a shovel.[107] He was sentenced to three years' probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and 400 hours of community service or 40 hours on a work crew along with a $1,800 fine.[108] Brown ignored the terms of his sentence and in 2000 was sentenced to six months in jail, which he began serving in 2002 after refusing the court-ordered counseling and community service.[109] He was released after three months.[110][111]

"There is no excuse for violence", said Brown in 2015.[49] "There is never a justification for anyone to impose themselves on someone else. And it will always be incorrect when it comes to a man and a woman, regardless of what might have happened. You need to be man enough to take the blow. That is always the best way. Do not put your hands on a woman

This is what I thought while reading the posts about his allegedly “inspirational” life off of the field. He had a decades long history of consistent abuse, violence and even attempts to murder women. Greatest running back ever, maybe the greatest football player, but he gets a free pass for a lot of truly horrible things. He didn’t make some questionable statements, he threw a woman off a balcony and then assaulted a cop when they came to investigate as just one of his many, consistent violent assaults over decades.

[skelly423]

Jim Brown belongs in the same class as Bobby Hull. Remarkable athlete who reached the peak of his sport(s), and was a reprehensible human being away from the game.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by atx840

"... it will always be incorrect when it comes to a man and a woman, regardless of what might have happened. You need to be man enough to take the blow. That is always the best way. Do not put your hands on a woman

I guess he and Bill Burr weren't in each other's fan club. “There is no reason to hit a woman. And I was just like, really? I could give you like 17 right off the top of my head.”

But seriously, I think people are getting tired of the reductivism. Human beings are complex. Most cannot be defined by a single incident or behavior. Jim Brown can be both an exemplary leader in the field of civil rights and a real turd in the domestic arena. There is nothing contradictory in that.

There's also the death thing. A lot of people do not like to speak ill of the dead. Some simply consider it to be in bad taste, like doing a roast for a eulogy. Of course, I think making fun of the dead is hilarious. Safe, too, since they can't sue you.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

May he rot.

[oldjudge]

https://andscape.com/features/jim-br...-freedom-song/

Great article by award winning columnist William Rhoden

[JollyElm]

Wow...this thread turned quickly.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Wow...this thread turned quickly.

+1 on that.

All I know is, I sent him a spiral notebook scrapbook someone put together in the 1960s that just happens to have a great color photo of him in it. He signed it, and returned it to me in the Priority Mail envelope I included. GRATIS. No charge. This was last year, when he was 86. Name another big name athlete who will do that.

[Snapolit1]

Guy did some awful things off the field, did some very positive things off the field, and was an amazing athlete. All are true.
Not sure he foots the bill as an amazing person.
Never underatood the whole don't speak ill of the dead thing. Seems to be the perfect time to give an honest assessment of someone's life. And not like he's around to read it anyway.

[clydepepper]

RIP to a great man: a great activist; a great football player; a great lacrosse player.

He always stood up and stood out.

I always think about the vast difference between him and O.J.



Thank You Mr. Brown!


.

[G1911]

People wouldn’t bring up his decades of violent assault against women if people weren’t calling his off field life inspirational and describing him as one of the finest of people, a great man. Falsehoods have a tendency to get observed.

It sucks he died, it sucks he beat the shit out of multiple women. The former fact does not bar acknowledgement of the later fact.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

I always think about the vast difference between him and O.J.

Funny, my first thought was how similar they were. Unfortunately, O.J. still lives.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by jingram058

+1 on that.

All i know is, i sent him a spiral notebook scrapbook someone put together in the 1960s that just happens to have a great color photo of him in it. He signed it, and returned it to me in the priority mail envelope i included. Gratis. No charge. This was last year, when he was 86. Name another big name athlete who will do that.

bump!

[Snapolit1]

Only real difference is OJ succeeded at killing his wife.


QUOTE=clydepepper;2342109]RIP to a great man: a great activist; a great football player; a great lacrosse player.

He always stood up and stood out.

I always think about the vast difference between him and O.J.



Thank You Mr. Brown!


.[/QUOTE]

[bmattioli]

We all have Skeletons in the closet. He was one the greatest on the field and brought joy to fans.