Broncos Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little dies at 78 – The Denver Post

The first great player in Broncos history has passed away.

Floyd Little, the star of the franchise during years of struggling in the 1960s and 1970s, died Friday night following a battle with a rare form of cellular cancer.

Little was 78.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced Little’s passing.

“Floyd Little was a true hero of the game,” said Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker. “He was a man of great integrity, passion and courage. His contributions off the pitch were even more important than his incredible achievements he made. Floyd’s smile, heart and character embodied what it meant to have a Hall of Fame life.

A member of the College Football Hall of Fame (1983), the Broncos’ Ring of Fame First Class (1984) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2010), Little’s cancer diagnosis was made public at the end of May by his friend and Syracuse teammate. , Pat Killorin, who started a GoFundMe to help cover Little’s medical bills.

On November 21, Killorin announced on social media that Little had been placed in a hospice; he started chemotherapy treatments last summer.

Connection with Ernie Davis

Floyd Little was born July 4, 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut, and attended Hillhouse High School in New Haven and the Bordentown Military Institute in New Jersey. He was six years old 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 took place at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and included meeting baseball stars Roy Campanella and Elston Howard.

“General MacArthur pretty much guaranteed that I would become the first African-American general,” Little said in 2010. “When you think about it, I could have been Colin Powell’s boss. I could have been General (normal) Schwarzkopf’s boss. I could have been General (David) Petraeus’ boss. Just think about it.

According to reports, Little chose Syracuse on the advice of former orange backer Ernie Davis, who visited Little in Connecticut. In Syracuse, Little continued the tradition of star running backs wearing the number 44, following Jim Brown and Davis.

A three-time All-America selection from 1964 to 1966 (freshmen were not eligible to play), Little rushed for 2,704 yards and 46 touchdowns. He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy poll in 65 and 66.

In 2010, decades after his college career, Little returned to Syracuse to be a special assistant to the athletic director, helping with fundraising, recruiting and mentoring.

Upon returning to Syracuse, Little said Davis, who died at age 24 in 1963 from leukemia, was the motivator.

“My life was linked to Ernie’s life because I wanted to be Ernie Davis that he couldn’t be,” Little said. “This is how I lived my life, because Ernie Davis didn’t have the chance to live his.”

Little worked in Syracuse until 2016, when he and his wife moved to Las Vegas.

“Floyd Little embodied what it means to be Orange,” Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement. “He was an all-American student-athlete. He set records in the NFL. He was successful in the business world. Floyd has mentored countless student-athletes and dedicated his time, energy and resources to improving the lives of others. He was a great friend to me and to his beloved Syracuse University. … Floyd Little, # 44, will be our Orange MVP forever.

Great player in a bad team

Entering their eighth year of existence and still looking for their first winning season, the Broncos picked Little sixth overall in the 1967 AFL / NFL Draft. Four first-round players would become Hall of Fame members. – Purdue quarterback Bob Griese (fourth in Miami), Notre Dame defensive tackle Alan Page (15th at Minnesota) and Texas guard A&M Gene Upshaw (17th at Oakland).

Not much has gone against the grain from the moment he was drafted because he actually signed with the Broncos, not the much more secure National Football League. In their first seven years, the Broncos couldn’t get their first-round pick (imagine that happening these days).

His signing bonus was $ 10,000.

Griese and Upshaw became Super Bowl champions and Page appeared in four title games. The team’s success, however, eluded Little for his entire Broncos career.

Playing on struggling teams and with mix-and-match quarterbacks, Little has long been the shining light for the Broncos. He was the NFL champion in the run in 1971 (1,133 yards) and currently ranks second in team history in rushing attempts (1,641), yards (6,323) and touchdowns (43), behind fellow Hall of Fame Terrell Davis in all three categories.

Little has 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 did will never be forgotten.

Little led the Broncos to rush seven times. The season ticket base has grown from 24,650 to 49,000 during his career. His No.44 is one of only three numbers withdrawn 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, co-author of Little’s 2006 autobiography, in a 2010 interview with the Post’s Mark Kiszla. “Either they are not taken over by the NFL in the merger, or they move to Alabama and become the Birmingham Broncos.”

Think about this: In the first 23 years of Broncos history, Little was the only Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee to play for the franchise. From 1983 to 2002, six eventual Hall of Famers played for Denver.

Translation: For many years, little was it for the Broncos.

The Little Broncos’ top six teams have never won more than five games. The AFL West at the time was run by Kansas City and Oakland. But he led the AFL in 1969 in yards per carry (5.0) and yards per game (81.0) and won All-Pro honors.

In Little’s last home game, against Philadelphia in December 1975, he scored on a 66-yard strike and a two-yard carry.

When he retired, he was seventh all-time in running and was nearly 5,000 yards more rushing than the next closest Broncos player.

Little was universally loved by fans and his 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 in the Miami Herald on December 22, 1975.

“I always dreaded seeing him come out of backfield on a pass pattern or get the transfer from the quarterback, always wondering how I could ever stop him. No matter how bruised and beaten he was after the game, he always managed to find me in midfield to say hello and ask questions about my health. … He is a person all children can look up to and parents can honestly say, ‘I hope my child grows up to be like him.’ “

The letter was signed “Nicholas A. Buoniconti”, linebacker for the Dolphins.

Long wait to enter Canton

The little wait for professional football’s immortality was frustrating. He had the support of his contemporaries, such as former Baltimore Colts chairman / NFL Players Association chairman John Mackey, who wrote to the selection committee: “If there is no room for Floyd Little in the Hall of Fame, please take me out and put it in. “

Thirty-five years after his retirement, Little was selected for induction. Shortly thereafter, he got a call from former Pittsburgh “Mean” defensive lineman Joe Greene.

He said, ‘Floyd, you’re the best football player I’ve played against in 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. No coming back. Best football player I’ve played against.”

What did Buoniconti and “Mean Joe” see? The Broncos’ first great player. Period.

“If I was a (New York) Jet and had the same career as me, I would have been a long time ago,” Little said in 2010.