CANTON, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Nearly three months following his passing, friends, family, former teammates and Hall of Famers gathered at the birthplace of football to remember the greatest to ever do it on the field and a social activist off of it – Jim Brown.
Brown passed away on May 18 at the age of 87.
Arguably the greatest running back of all time, Brown was an eight-time All-Pro and was named a Pro Bowler in each of his nine years in the NFL. He held the league’s records for yards with 12,312 and 126 touchdowns when he retired at the age of 30. He carried the Browns to their last NFL championship in 1964.
Brown’s legacy transcends football.
“This man will not only be remembered, he will be rejoiced,” Ravens Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis said. “God created a man of God, an icon, a culture icon, an activist, an athlete, an actor, a husband. And the greatest.”
Rows of seats in front of the stage were filled with men in gold jackets – Hall of Famers, who came to pay respect at the celebration which was organized by the Browns, NFL and Hall of Fame.
The tributes to Brown Thursday afternoon focused more on his impact off the field as a social activist than the dominant force of nature he was on it.
“Jim got into the entertainment business as an actor, and then Jim was into social justice before there was social justice,” Browns managing and principal partner Jimmy Haslam said.
Brown became a social justice activist in the 1960s. He organized a summit in Cleveland in support of Muhammad Ali’s protest against the war in Vietnam with Bill Russell and Lew Alcindor, who later became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Brown retired at the peak of his career following a disagreement with then owner Art Modell to become an actor. He starred in over 30 films including “The Dirty Dozen,” “Mars Attacks!” and “Any Given Sunday.”
After buying the Cleveland Browns in 2012, the Haslams mended fences with Brown, who became estranged from the organization following a dispute with former team president Mike Holmgren.
“He loved football. He loved the NFL, and he loved Cleveland Browns and Cleveland, Ohio,” Haslam said. “Jim worked with us for 11 years. I think he never once called and said, you should do that. You should do this. You made a mistake here. He never ever did that. All he would do is call and say, can I help you? What can I do to help? We had a player, particularly a player who may be off the field, was struggling. He would call and say, can I have dinner with him? Can I have lunch with him? How can I spend time with him? How can I help him? And he had that kind of humility that is rare that you see with people with supreme confidence.”
Rudoplh “Rock” Johnson, imprisoned at age 16, explained how Brown saved and helped to rehabilitate his life after prison, and how Brown comforted him following the murder of his daughter and kept him from seeking retribution.
“Jim looked me in my eyes and said, ‘Rock, if we crossed that line, there’s no turning back.’ ‘What you mean, we, Jim? This is my problem. This is my issue. That was my daughter.’ He said, ‘What about your other daughter?’ He said, ‘What about all the young men that follows you? And that listens to you today?’
Johnson ran the Amer-I-Can program, founded by Brown to assist disadvantaged inner city youth and inmates.
“He was a man of men and he transcend racial religion and socioeconomic status,” Johnson said. “It was about human beings, and as human beings, we are allowed to make mistakes. As human beings, we are how we pick ourselves up and become the person we are today. I love you, big fella. I appreciate y'all here honoring to celebrating his life. And I hope everybody continues to celebrate his life. I miss him.”
Promotor Bob Arum told the story of how Brown helped him land Muhammad Ali as a client. Just one of a multitude of examples of how Brown brought strangers together.
Johnny Gill took the stage and sang “A change is gonna come.”
John Wooten, a former teammate of Brown’s and chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, an advocacy group that works with the NFL as it relates to minority hiring in coaching, scouting and front office positions.
“The human dignity is what all of this is about,” Wooten said. “Respect everyone is what we have.”
Wooten implored professional athletes across the NFL, Major League Baseball and NBA to get involved in the same way Brown did.
“All of this is coming out of Jim's mind because we cannot afford to stand on the sidelines,” Wooten said. “Be involved in your community. This is a great country. There’s no country better than this country, but we must do what we must do. And that is human dignity and respect each other.”
Brown’s wife, Monique, spoke last.
“Jim was my best friend,” Monique Brown said. “He was my biggest champion… He had trust in me. He respected me. He listened to me and the shift of our relationship because it started where he was my mentor. And then as I gained wisdom and experience, he shifted to lean on me more.
“Jim led with humanity. He led with strength, uncompromising strength. And I'm just so proud to be here today. I’m so grateful to everyone who’s made this day possible, to all the family, all the friends. If you're here, you are family.”
Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971 and was named to the NFL’s 100th anniversary all-time team in 2019, the “all-Decade team” for the 1960’s, the NFL’s 75th anniversary team and the All-Time NFL Team in 2000.
In 2016, the Browns commissioned and unveiled a statue outside of Cleveland Browns Stadium of Brown. His No. 32 was retired by the club in 1971 and his name resides in the Ring of Honor alongside the franchise’s Hall of Famers and Clay Matthews Jr.
Paul Warfield, Eric Metcalf, Kevin Mack, Reggie Langhorne, Bernie Kosar, D’Qwell Jackson and Joe Thomas were among the former Browns to attend the ceremony, which was hosted by NBC’s Mike Tirico.
Comedian Dave Chappelle and rapper Flava Flav also attended.
Browns EVP of football operations and GM Andrew Berry as well as head coach Kevin Stefanski were in the audience along with current players Amari Cooper, Denzel Ward, Myles Garrett, Deshaun Watson and Rodney McLeod.