I don't know if any opposing defensive back feared anything more than seeing Larry Csonka head toward him after clearing the line, knowing Csonka ran over, not away from, DBs. I don't know if anybody caused more defensive linemen and linebackers to wonder where he went more than the fleet-footed Gale Sayers. I don't know how many more yards Barry Sanders would have gained had he not retired so near the mark.

Jim Brown, however, was all three combined, and is, pound for pound, the greatest RB in NFL history.

Jim Brown was an All-American at Syracuse - in both football and lacrosse. He also lettered in basketball. He was taken with the sixth pick in the 1957 draft by the Cleveland Browns, and was the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year in a class that included Paul Hornung, John Brodie, and Len Dawson, who were each chosen ahead of him.

The NFL season consisted of 12 regular season games during the Jim Brown era. In only nine seasons, he amassed 12,312 rushing yards, 15,549 total yards, and even threw three touchdowns! He was first-team all NFL seven times, and played in all nine pro-bowls during his brief career!

The sports world was shocked when Brown announced his retirement in 1966. He was only 30 years old, had never missed a game to injury, and had scored three touchdowns in the previous pro-bowl. He would pursue an acting career that never came close to his NFL career. When the sweetness known as Walter Peyton broke Brown's record years later, Brown seemed to have regretted his decision to retire so young. Brown had set the record in fewer seasons, with fewer games in the season.

His records are so phenomenal that they are mind boggling. He led the league in rushing a record five consecutive times, and is tied for second with three! Those eight times (in nine years) is twice as many times anybody else has led the league in rushing! He led the league in touchdowns a record five times, and averaged more than 100 yards per game for his entire career. In 1963, he set the single season rushing record of 1,863 yards; the record he broke was the 1,527 record he set in 1958!

Jim Brown's career is so incredible that the only real argument about the ranking of all-time NFL RBs is 'who is number two.'

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Check out Jim Brown's Hall of Fame page: http://www.profootballhof.com/ hof/member.jsp?player_id=33

Sources:
1957 Draft: http://www.profootballhof.com/ history/general/draft/1957.jsp
NFL Records: http://www.nfl.com/history/ran df

Learn more about this author, Tom Koecke.
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