The National Football League lost one of its true giants last week, as the great Jim Brown passed away at the age of 87. His playing career started in 1957 and ended in 1965, one year before the first Super Bowl. He won numerous accolades during his nine seasons in the league, including Rookie of the Year, four league MVPs, eight unanimous first-team NFL picks and nine Pro Bowl appearances.
These days, a player’s overall success is also largely based on his fantasy football production and value. Of course, fantasy sports hadn’t even begun until the 1960s on a small level and its explosion into the mainstream wouldn’t occur until the ‘90s. But if it had been as popular back then as it is now, Brown would have been the benchmark among fantasy running backs. He was Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson before there was, well, Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson.
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