The first great player in the history of the Broncos passed away.
Floyd Little, the star of the franchise during years of struggle in the 1960s and 1970s, died on Friday night after a battle with a rare form of cell cancer.
Little was 78 years old.
The Professional Football Hall of Fame announced Little’s death.
“Floyd Little was a true hero of the game,” said David Baker, president of the Professional Football Hall of Fame. “He was a man of great integrity, passion and courage. His contributions outside the field were even greater than his incredible accomplishments. Floyd’s smile, heart and character summed up what it meant to have a life in the Hall of Fame. “
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement that Little “was not just a Hall of Fame, he was a Hall of Fame person. Faith, family and football were the pillars of his life. I was fortunate to meet Floyd and to witness firsthand the impact he had on others. “
A member of the College Football Hall of Fame (1983), the inaugural class of the Broncos’ Ring of Fame (1984) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2010), Little’s cancer diagnosis was released in late May by his friend and Syracuse teammate Pat Killorin, who started a GoFundMe to help cover Little’s medical expenses.
On November 21, Killorin announced on social media that Little had been hospitalized; he started chemotherapy treatments last summer.
Kevin Rivoli, The Associated Press
Former running back for Syracuse and Denver Broncos, Floyd Little, recognizes the crowd during the break ceremony to retire shirt 44 in Syracuse, NY, Saturday, November 12, 2005.
Connection with Ernie Davis
Floyd Little was born on July 4, 1942, in New Haven, Connecticut, and studied at Hillhouse High School in New Haven and at the Bordentown Military Institute in New Jersey. He was six when his father died of cancer.
Little was recruited by the United States Military Academy (led by General Douglas MacArthur), Notre Dame and Syracuse. Little’s meeting with MacArthur was at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and included the meeting with baseball stars Roy Campanella and Elston Howard.
“General MacArthur practically guaranteed that I would become the first African American general,” said Little in 2010. “When you think about it, I could have been Colin Powell’s boss. I could have been the head of General (Normal) Schwarzkopf. I could have been the head of General (David) Petraeus. Just think about it. “
According to reports, Little chose Syracuse on the advice of former Orange running back Ernie Davis, who visited Little in Connecticut. In Syracuse, Little continued the tradition of star running backs that wore No. 44, following Jim Brown and Davis.
A three-time All-America selection from 1964-66 (freshmen could not play), Little ran for 2,704 yards and 46 touchdowns. He finished fifth in the vote for the Heisman Trophy in ’65 and ’66.
In 2010, decades after his college career, Little returned to Syracuse to be a special assistant to the sports director, helping with fundraising, recruitment and mentoring.
After returning to Syracuse, Little said Davis, who died at age 24 in 1963 from leukemia, was the motivating factor.
“My life was linked to Ernie’s life because I wanted to be the Ernie Davis that he couldn’t be,” said Little. “That’s how I lived my life, because Ernie Davis didn’t have a chance to live his.”
Little worked at Syracuse until 2016, when he and his wife moved to Las Vegas.
“Floyd Little personifies what it means to be orange,” Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement. “He was an American student-athlete. He broke records in the NFL. He achieved success in the business world. Floyd mentored countless student-athletes and dedicated his time, energy and resources to improving other people’s lives. He was a great friend, to me and to his beloved Syracuse University. … Floyd Little, No. 44, will forever be our MVP Orange. “
The Denver Post
Floyd Little (44) of the Denver Broncos avoids the tackle of Jet player Steve O’Neal (20) and continues on his way to the New York Jet 1-yard line, where he stumbled on September 22, 1969. Little returned a 56-yard jet kick during the second quarter to establish a Denver touchdown on the next move. The Broncos scored a 21 to 19 victory over the Jets that day, in front of a crowd of 51,000 spectators in Denver.
Great player on bad team
Entering its eighth year of existence and still looking for its first winning season, the Broncos chose Little in sixth overall in the 1967 draft of the AFL / NFL. Four players from the first round would become members of the Hall of Fame – Purdue quarterback Bob Griese (fourth in Miami), Notre Dame defensive tackle Alan Page (15th in Minnesota) and Texas guard A&M Gene Upshaw (17th in Oakland).
Little has been against the current since he was drafted, because in fact he signed with the Broncos, not the much safer National Football League. In its first seven years, the Broncos failed to sign their first-round pick (imagine this happening today).
His signing bonus was $ 10,000.
Griese and Upshaw became Super Bowl champions and Page played four games for the title. The team’s success, however, eluded Little throughout his Broncos career.
Playing in teams with difficulties and with mixed and combined defenders, Little was for a long time the bright light of the Broncos. He was the NFL Rushing champion in 1971 (1,133 yards) and currently ranks second in the team’s history in running attempts (1,641), yards (6,323) and touchdowns (43), behind Hall of Fame colleague Terrell Davis in all three categories.
Little never appeared in a playoff game and was part of only two winning teams (7-5-2 in ’73 and 7-6-1 in ’74), but his contributions to making professional football in this region a success will never be forgotten.
Little led the Broncos to run seven times. The season ticket base has increased from 24,650 to 49,000 during his career. His number 44 is one of only three players retired by the Broncos, joining quarterback Frank Tripucka (18) and quarterback John Elway (7).
“Without Floyd Little, there would be no Denver Broncos,” said Tom Mackie, who co-authored Little’s autobiography in 2006, in a 2010 interview with Mark Kiszla of the Post. “Either they are not chosen by the NFL in the merger or they move to Alabama and become the Birmingham Broncos.”
Think about it: In the first 23 years of the Broncos’ history, Little was the only eventual candidate for the Professional Football Hall of Fame to play for the franchise. From 1983 to 2002, six prospective members of the Hall of Fame starred in Denver.
Translation: For many years, Little was it for the Broncos.
The first six teams at Little Broncos have never won more than five games. At that time, AFL West was ruled by Kansas City and Oakland. But he led the AFL in 1969 in yards per race (5.0) and yards per game (81.0) and received All-Pro honors.
In Little’s last home game against Philadelphia in December 1975, he scored in a 66-yard reception and a two-yard run.
At the time of his retirement, he was in seventh place at all times in races and had almost 5,000 more yards in races than the next Broncos player.
Little was universally loved by fans and teammates and widely respected by opponents.
Two days after playing his 117th and final professional football game, and one day after announcing his retirement, Floyd Little was honored in a letter to the editor published in the Miami Herald of December 22, 1975.
“I was always afraid to see him leave the backfield in a pass pattern or get the quarterback delivered, always wondering how I was going to stop him. As bruised and bruised as he was after the game, he always managed to find me in the middle of the field to greet me and ask about my health. (…) He is a person that all children can admire and parents can honestly say: ‘I hope my son grows up to be like him’ ”.
The letter was signed “Nicholas A. Buoniconti”, Dolphins linebacker.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Denver Broncos Hall of Fame nominees John Elway, Floyd Little, Shannon Sharpe and Gary Zimmerman pose with new member Terrell Davis during a photo opportunity after his speech at the Professional Football Hall of Fame recognition ceremony at Tom Stadium Benson Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on August 5, 2017.
Long wait to enter Guangzhou
Little’s wait for the immortality of professional football was frustrating. He had the support of his contemporaries, such as John Mackey, former president of the Baltimore Colts Players Association / tight end, who wrote to the selection committee: “If there is no room for Floyd Little in the Hall of Fame, please take it out and put it in. “
Thirty-five years after his retirement, Little was selected for induction. Shortly thereafter, he received a call from former Pittsburgh defense striker “Mean” Joe Greene.
“He said, ‘Floyd, you are the best football player I have ever played against in my 16 years,'” Little said in an interview in February 2019. “I said, ‘Joe, are you serious?’ And he said, ‘You are the best football player. Not running back. Best football player I played against. ‘”
What did Buoniconti and “Mean Joe” see? The Broncos’ first great player. Period.
“If I were a jet (from New York) and had the same career as I had, it would be a long time ago,” said Little in 2010.
Maybe so, but Little never let his long wait drown out his enthusiasm for having a bust in Canton, Ohio.
In February 2019, the Hall of Fame met in a ballroom on the second floor of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis for the annual Merlin Olsen Luncheon. Little went to the Denver media contingent available to cover the next night’s selection of owner Pat Bowlen and cornerback Champ Bailey.
If there is anyone who liked being a Hall of Fame more than Floyd Little, they need to step up. He loved the jacket. He loved to go back to Canton. He loved all the events with his colleagues. He loved everything.
When the interview was ending, Little was asked, “What is it really like to be a Hall of Fame?”
“I tell the guys, if you’re not feeling well, you’re sick, you have a little cold, you just can’t get started – go to your closet and put this baby on,” he said of his golden jacket. “You will feel so much better. Using one of these is one of the greatest experiences of my life.
“I love using it. It makes me feel different. “