Cleveland, OH

Jim Brown, legendary NFL running back, dead at 87

Published

2 years ago

May 19, 2023

Jim Brown, legendary NFL running back, dead at 87

May 19 (Reuters) – Jim Brown, one of the greatest running backs in the history of the National Football League who quit the game at the height of his career to act in Hollywood movies and add his voice to the civil rights movement, has died. He was 87.

Brown died on Thursday night, his wife Monique Brown said on Instagram.

“To the world he was an activist, actor, and football star. To our family, he was a loving and wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts are broken,” she wrote.

As an explosive fullback for the Cleveland Browns, Brown combined power, speed, intensity and size (6 feet 2 inches, 230 pounds) in a way not seen in the NFL before he joined the league in 1957. He announced his retirement in July 1966 while in London filming his second movie, “The Dirty Dozen.”

He was a prominent figure in the Black Pride movement of the 1960s and a friend of Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan as well as Huey Newton, co-founder of the militant Black Panthers group.

Brown was dogged by allegations of violence against women over the decades though never convicted. Brown admitted in his 1989 memoir to slapping women.

“In a perfect world, I don’t think any man should slap anyone,” Brown wrote. “I don’t start fights, but sometimes I don’t walk away from them. It hasn’t happened in a long time, but it’s happened, and I regret those times. I should have been more in control of myself, stronger, more adult.”

Brown led the NFL in rushing in eight of his nine seasons and was voted the league’s most valuable player four times. He held 20 league records when he retired at age 30, including most rushing yards and most rushing touchdowns. In 1999, the Sporting News put him atop its list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century.

Brown summed up his style by saying: “Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts.”

“I didn’t retire because I was broken down and slow,” Brown told Sports Illustrated in 2015. “I retired because it was time to retire and do other things.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement on Friday that Brown was one of the most dominant players to ever step on any athletic field and also a cultural figure who helped promote change.

“During his nine-year NFL career, which coincided with the civil rights movement here at home, he became a forerunner and role model for athletes being involved in social initiatives outside their sport,” Goodell said.

“He was certainly the greatest to ever put on a Browns uniform and arguably one of the greatest players in NFL history,” Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said in a statement.

BLACK ACTIVISM

In 1967, Brown joined other activist athletes such as basketball’s Bill Russell and Lew Alcindor, who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in supporting Muhammad Ali’s refusal to be drafted into the U.S. military.

Brown also sought to empower the Black community by starting the Negro Industrial Economic Union in the 1960s to help African Americans in the business world and in the 1980s founded Amer-I-Can, a program to help ex-convicts and former gang members by focusing on job skills and nonviolence.

“I was basically a proponent of economic development as a way to equality, social equality,” Brown told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2013.

Brown was one of the first U.S. athletes to parlay his on-field accomplishments into another full-time career, which included more than 40 movies and television shows. His rugged good looks and quiet charisma made him a natural for tough-guy roles and he made his first movie, the Western “Rio Conchos,” in 1964 while still with the Browns.

In addition to “The Dirty Dozen,” (1967) his early works included “Ice Station Zebra” (1968) and 1970s “blaxploitation” films such as “Three the Hard Way” (1974), “Slaughter” (1972) and “Black Gunn” (1972).

Brown’s 1969 movie “100 Rifles” featured a rare interracial sex scene with Raquel Welch. He posed nude for Playgirl magazine and wrote frankly about his busy sex life in his 1989 book “Out of Bounds.”

Later movies included the blaxploitation spoof “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” (1988) and Spike Lee’s “He Got Game” (1988).

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Brown was accused of violence against women multiple times including a 1965 case in which he was acquitted of assaulting an 18-year-old woman. In 1968, he was accused of throwing a girlfriend from a balcony in an argument but she told police she fell.

Battery charges in an incident involving two women were dropped in 1971 and a rape charge was dismissed in 1985 due to inconsistent testimony from the accuser.

In 1999, his second wife, Monique, told authorities Brown had threatened to kill her. She later recanted and he was convicted only of smashing the windows of her car. Brown took a six-month jail term because he considered an alternative sentence that included counseling, community service and probation to be unfair. He served less than four months.

He later told the Los Angeles Times he curbed his violence through a self-improvement program that operates in California prisons.

In 1978, he was convicted of assaulting professional golfer Frank Snow in a dispute on a golf course.

James Nathaniel Brown was born on St. Simons Island, Georgia, on Feb. 17, 1936, and spent his early years with his great-grandmother after his father left the family and his mother moved away to work as a maid.

He rejoined his mother in Manhasset, New York, and became a four-sport star in high school. He won a scholarship to Syracuse University where he was an all-American in lacrosse as well as football and a star on the basketball team.

The NFL this year honored Brown by renaming the league’s rushing title the Jim Brown Award. Some critics said it was disgraceful for the NFL to honor a man accused of violence against women.

“To champion Brown as some kind of hero is as brutal a blow as the ones he was repeatedly accused of delivering,” USA Today sports columnist Nancy Armour wrote.

Looking back, Brown said he was not concerned about public perceptions.

“I’m not interested in trying to work on people’s perceptions,” Brown said in a 1999 documentary on ESPN Classic. “I am who I am, and if you don’t take the time to learn about that, then your perception is going to be your problem.”

Reporting By Paul Grant; editing by Jasper Ward

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Cleveland, OH

Ohio City burglary suspects wanted by Cleveland police

Published

8 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

Ohio City burglary suspects wanted by Cleveland police

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Ohio City burglary suspects are on the loose, Cleveland police confirmed, and detectives need help identifying them.

Police said the burglary happened on Nov. 7, but did not specify where or at what time.

The suspects were only described by police as males, and police did not confirm how many.

Take a close look at the surveillance photos of the suspects and the van involved shared by the Cleveland Division of Police Second District Community Relations Committee:

Ohio City burglary suspects wanted by Cleveland police(Cleveland Division of Police Second District Community Relations Committee)

Call Det. Murphy at 216-623-5217 if you recognize the suspects or the van, or have any other information on this burglary.

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Cleveland, OH

Jeanne Frances

Published

16 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

Jeanne Frances

OBITUARY

Jeanne Frances (nee Hoy), 84, of Cleveland, passed away November 20, 2024, surrounded by her loving daughters. Born to John J. and Catherine M. Hoy, Jeanne was the only daughter in an active, rambunctious family raised on Cleveland’s west side. “Jinxie” was athletic and loved the outdoors. While earning her RN, she met her future husband and they raised their family in Lorain County. Jeanne was a lover of truth, beauty, and fairness; her family, the Guardians, and the Browns. She was an avid reader, tackling challenging spiritual authors like Thomas Merton and enjoying murder mysteries. Jeanne was a wonderful watercolor artist, as well as poet, an activity encouraged at St. Augustine Towers, Cleveland, where she spent her final years.Jeanne is survived by daughters: Catherine Manzo, Regina (Jeff) Anderson, Rebecca (John) Schaly, Jennifer Fitzgerald; seven grandchildren: Paul (Susan) Paterson, Nicole (Jacob) Double, Adam (Mikaela) Schaly, Benjamin (Carissa) Pluta, Rohun Agarwal, Frank C. Strasek, and Andrew Schaly; soon to be ten great-grandchildren: Nyssa Paterson; Noelle, Mariah and Laurel Double; Gianna Schaly; Magdalene, Jack and Simon Pluta; brothers and their wives: Terry & Donna, Jim & Linda Hoy; sisters-in-law: Marge Dorko Hoy, Ellen McCann Hoy, Joan McElroy, Maryann Kuchar, Sr. Charlotte Manzo, Fran Manzo Ray, Rita Manzo Adorjan Zydonis, Margie Manzo Vida; brother-in-law and his wife: John & Patty Manzo; many nieces and nephews; many friends, and the caring staff of St. Augustine’s. Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents; infant sister: Mary Kay; daughter: Jenny; brothers: Jack, Tim, and Dan; sisters-in-law: Mary Perko Hoy, Marilyn Fenley Hoy, Patsy Corcoran Hoy, Rosie Manzo Brej; brothers-in-law: Louis Adorjan, John Zydonis, Will Ray, Richard Brej, and Lou Vida.Visitation Tues, Nov. 26, 3-7PM, Rosary at 6:30PM at Craciun Berry Funeral Home, 7200 Detroit Rd, Cleveland. Funeral Mass on Wed, Nov 27, 11:30AM, St. Michael Archangel Church, 3114 Scranton Rd, Cleveland. Interment at a later date. Visit Craciun Berry website for full obituary.

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Cleveland, OH

MLB Front Office Rankings, 2024 season: No. 25, Cleveland Guardians

Published

24 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

MLB Front Office Rankings, 2024 season: No. 25, Cleveland Guardians

Recap: How the front office rating works

This is one in a series of assessments of the performances of front offices for the 2024 season. Each front office is given a score based on the total Wins Above Average of the players they either traded for, signed via free agency or extension, or promoted from their farm system, since the conclusion of the 2023 post-season.

A front office’s score also includes the total Wins Above Average of players traded away or lost to free agency since the end of the 2023 post-season. The front offices are being presented in order of their total value from No. 30 (worst) all the way to No. 1 (best).

These ratings do not necessarily reflect the final standings. Front offices are measured based only on the talent they acquired or lost during the past 12 months. Players on multi-year contracts, or already under team control, don’t count toward this rating.

25. Cleveland Guardians: Chris Antonetti, President of Baseball Operations; Michael Chernoff, General Manager, -5.6.

The Guardians won 92 games this past season, doing so despite occasional front office interference, particularly on the pitching staff.

Seeking to improve on a lackluster 76-86 2023 season, the veteran team of Antonetti and Chernoff— who have been running things in Cleveland nearly a decade—identified the starting rotation as the area most in need of support for new manager Stephen Vogt.

They were right about the problem, but wrong about the methodology in solving it.

One of the first things Antonetti and Chernoff did last offseason was allow Reynaldo Lopez to walk in free agency. Lopez, after all, had been a lightly used afterthought in Cleveland’s bullpen, making just a dozen 2023 appearances covering 11 innings.

The Atlanta Braves saw in Lopez what the Guardians’ front office failed to recognize: a front-rank starter. Lopez put together a 1.99 ERA for the Braves in 25 starts, good for +3.9 WAA.

The Guardians, who got 25 starts from only two of the 14 pitchers who took the bump to open games for them this past season, could have used Lopez’ consistency, particularly in their ALCS showdown with New York.

Having axed Lopez, the Guardians proceeded to flesh out their roster by bringing back Carlos Carrasco, a former Clevelander most recently toiling with the Mets. In 21 starts, Carrasco went 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA and -2.1 WAA.

That functional swap—Carrasco for Lopez—cost the Guardians six games by itself, according to WAA.

Sep 30, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) throws against the New York Mets in the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Five most impactful Antonetti-Chernoff moves in 2023-24

Transaction	Net Impact (Wins Above Average)
Let Reynaldo Lopez hit free agency Advertisement	-3.9
Signed free agent Carlos Carrasco	-2.1
Promoted Hunter Gaddis	+1.7 Advertisement
Promoted Cade Smith	+1.7
Promoted Tim Herrin	+1.2

How, then, did Cleveland manage to win 92 games and the division? It’s a good question with only a partial answer.

Part of that answer lies in the fact that four of the Guardians’ most productive players in 2024—Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan, Andres Gimenez and Emmanuel Clase—all were playing on contracts signed prior to the end of the 2023 season, meaning their data does not impact the 2024 Antonetti-Chernoff rating.

It’s also worth considering the team’s commitment to a bullpen-first strategy. While relievers are notoriously unreliable, and Cleveland’s commitment to them bit the Guardians badly in the postseason, it worked well for the long in-season grind. Three rookie-status system arms—Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin—combined to produce 216 innings in support of Clase, all with sub-2.00 ERAs and solid WAAs.

Naturally, even dominant relievers affect wins above average less than an everyday position player or starting pitcher, as they just aren’t in games long enough to truly swing outcomes in tangible ways.

The Guardians also played two games above their 90-72 Pythagorean record. Beyond that, though, there isn’t a perfect explanation for the season the Guardians had. Sometimes baseball doesn’t lend itself to exact quantifiability.

For the most part, Antonetti and Chernoff played the hand they had been dealt prior to 2024. Their personnel moves only affected 42 major leaguers—a relatively modest number—and split right down the middle, half positive, half negative.