Flashback Friday: Cleveland Browns Jim Brown was good at EVERYTHING
Jim Brown, the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame GOAT
For whatever reason, lacrosse never did develop into a major professional sport like football, but at the college level, lacrosse was and is a big deal, particularly in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States. If you imagine playing hockey on a grass field with a ball instead of a puck, that would not be far off.
Like hockey, it derives in part from games played by Native Americans. Today, the players wear pads like football, and it is just as rugged as football, hockey or rugby. Brown claimed that it was actually his favorite sport, which really allowed him to use his speed and power as an athlete. He reportedly said, “I’d rather play lacrosse six days a week and football on the seventh.”
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In his senior year, the Orange went a perfect 10-0. However, in lieu of a championship game, the US Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association awarded the Wingate Trophy to 5-0 Johns Hopkins University. Perhaps it was a coincidence that Syracuse had two nonwhite players and Johns Hopkins had none. In Leveling the Playing Field: The Story of the Syracuse 8, David Marc tells how coach Roy Simmons addressed the team. “For most of you, this is the first time you have felt the sting of racism. That lesson has far greater value than the Wingate or any other trophy.”
Jim Brown is the first African American to have been selected to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, inducted in 1984. Perhaps they were embarrassed that Brown is so much better known for his football play, but this was a travesty to have waited so long. They list him as “James N. Brown.” Oh come on, we know who he is. They must be jealous that Jim Brown is so much more famous than the rest of the lacrosse players
His Hall of Fame induction plaque indicates that Jim Brown is “considered by many to be the greatest to ever play the game of lacrosse.” The 1958 NCAA Lacrosse guide called Brown “the greatest lacrosse player in the history of the sport.” According to George Vecsey, writing for the New York Times (March 19, 1984), Roy Simmons was at the induction ceremony and underscored that claim, saying “I coached this game for 46 years, and Jim Brown was the greatest lacrosse player I ever saw.” So critics should not be saying it was made up by a bunch of Cleveland fans. He really was that good.
The professional Premier Lacrosse League started in 2019, and its future is in doubt due to Covid-19. Nevertheless, their Most Valuable Player Award is named after Jim Brown. Brown offers these comments on their website:
"“I’m very proud to be a part of the PLL and its commitment and dedication to the game of lacrosse. I will be very active in support of this great effort. My congratulations to all of those who have worked very hard to make this recognition of lacrosse a reality. I also have a great appreciation that the MVP award will be in my name. The sport of lacrosse has a rich history, dating back hundreds of years to the Iroquois Nation, and I’m humbled to continue to grow the game.”"
If Jim Brown is not the GOAT of lacrosse, who is?
Also, it is very much like Brown to acknowledge the contributions of the Iroquois Nation. It truly is an American game.
Incidentally, Brown’s son Aris will be a freshman this fall and will play lacrosse at Hampton University.