The Trilogy - Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little

by MattR on Oct 9, 2008 11:54 AM MDT Comment 28 comments

Sam Adams at the Rocky Mountain News has an excellent article related to the release of the movie "The Express: The Ernie Davis Story". The article focuses on Davis's relationship with Little. Davis recruited Little to follow him to Syracuse just as Jim Brown had recruited Davis. All three wore the number 44 and each had an amazing career with Little breaking many of the records that were set by Jim Brown and subsequently broken by Ernie Davis. The whole article is absolutely worth reading as is the video accompanying it (there is a link on the right side of the article to the video). I will leave you with this quote from the article, but go read the entire thing.

"Floyd was probably the best of all of us in college," Brown said. "He doesn't get his due. The man should be in the (Pro Football) Hall of Fame. Here we are talking about Jim Brown and Ernie Davis, and there's Floyd Little - a three-time All-American who's probably better than both of them."

To be clear, Brown was talking about Little's college achievements but even that statement is remarkable considering that Jim Brown was probably the greatest all around college athlete of the last 75 years.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

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Many thanks MattR

for increasing the awareness of the accomplishments of Floyd Little.
Buzzed, Rec’d, F’d,and Digged!

That’s ok with me. We’re playing for wins, not media publicity....HT 9/11/08

by firstfan on Oct 9, 2008 12:36 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

All three of those men are/were amazing individuals

Who encountered and overcame obstacles that I cannot even comprehend.

by MattR on Oct 9, 2008 12:42 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good

The first Denver Franchise player. He was awesome as a college player and even better on pretty awful Denver teams. Just think how good he was to break Browns and Davis’ records. Look how long it took to break Little’s Denver records. Over 20+ years

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 9, 2008 12:44 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

br......sd I agree!! I loved Little as a kid---and Denver was so bad then!

Funny us older fans that remember when the Broncos were chronically bad. It was like 2007, year, after year, after year. Maybe if we get to the SB this year—after such a bad last year—people will again look at the Broncos as a great team. Maybe people will look into our history and look at the handful of players that kept this franchise together.

Little, Grad, S. Smith, Meck, and Atwater should all be in the hall.

The best defense is a good offense!
I hope.

by Mike Clark on Oct 9, 2008 6:46 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Little left...

…I remember when the Denver O was Little left, Little right, try a pass and punt. But I also remember Little’s last play, when he took a swing pass and ran a long ways, then was met at about the ten by three of the oppo. They all fell down as Little ran through them, and Little scored. I think that was his last play, but my old memory may be playing tricks. Little was amazing though. He had IT, mos def.

See everything. Overlook a great deal. Improve a little. Pope John XXIII.

by bradley on Oct 9, 2008 7:42 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

bradley--I thought you were just a smart child--my apologizes!

The best defense is a good offense!
I hope.

by Mike Clark on Oct 9, 2008 7:58 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

7-9 was a good year back then.

If this be Hell, let us make the most of it!

by Trinidad Jack on Oct 9, 2008 7:46 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jack funny us back then.............that still loved...just because.

The best defense is a good offense!
I hope.

by Mike Clark on Oct 9, 2008 7:59 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

We were a hoot.

There is nothing so sweet as love given unconditionally.

If this be Hell, let us make the most of it!

by Trinidad Jack on Oct 10, 2008 10:26 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Some could use a Christian Bible study on that thought.

The best defense is a good offense!
I hope.

by Mike Clark on Oct 10, 2008 5:48 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Or

when a 5-8-1 season was a GREAT year

somethings wrong, Trying to conquer these fears i thought were gone. And it's been so long, I'm dying to live in a world i don't belong

by broncfanstuckinsd on Oct 10, 2008 1:28 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

When can we get Matt....

to be a full-fledged contributor around here?!?!

-TSG

SBNation's Denver Broncos Blogger
MileHighReport

Questions, Comments...E-Mail Me!
milehighreport@gmail.com

by John Bena (aka TheSportsGuru) on Oct 9, 2008 12:48 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

When he stops being lazy and gets his act together ;)

I appreciate the kind words. And you did inspire me to copy over my salary cap info to the new computer last night. Next step is to actually update it with the past 3 months worth of activity.

by MattR on Oct 9, 2008 1:03 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

lazy never stopped me ;)

I hate the process of switching over to a new cpu.. I start out going strong, and then just sort of peter out. I have vast amounts of stuff to transfer still, and I have actually switched to longhand player scouting because I can’t get organized enough to set up the files for sorting them on the cpu….

But the new cpu works, so I ain’t really complainin’

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by styg50 on Oct 9, 2008 1:44 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Matt, I'm the village idiot of this site....

and I think you should be part of the staff.

WAIT a minute….if I’m the idiot maybe you should not listen to me. In fact you should ignore this. You write so well though. I have such a hard time with reality.

My vote is for MattR becoming a staff writer.

The best defense is a good offense!
I hope.

by Mike Clark on Oct 9, 2008 8:12 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cool artical

Interesting that Little broke Davis and Brown’s records, I never knew that. And I agree, Little should be in the HOF along with other Broncos. Hopefully this movie makes some people think about or remember Little, very interesting about MacCarther, I thought he was dead by that time or very retired, shows what I know.

"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum

by Broncoman on Oct 9, 2008 2:12 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Another tidbit

Once Little played against Gale Sayers. It was Little’s first start for Syracuse and no one had ever heard of Floyd Little. The eyes of the entire country were on Kansas’ star. Floyd scored five touchdowns that day and had 159 rushing yards on ten carries. Syracuse won 38-8 thanks to Floyd Little.

That’s ok with me. We’re playing for wins, not media publicity....HT 9/11/08

by firstfan on Oct 9, 2008 4:59 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Little

I didn’t know that Ernie recruited Little, and that he made a promise to Ernie to play at Syracuse. Interesting. I agree with Jim Brown, however. Little should get to wear that jacket at Canton. Him and Gradishar are getting screwed by the HOF voters.

Back to ED. He is one of the biggest “what if” stories in NFL history. He probably would have made the Hall if he would have lived. When I think of Ernie, I also think of Joe Roth, the Cal QB who was supposed to be great but died of Cancer in February 1977. From what I heard about these two, the NFL would have been better for having those two guys in it. Joe Delaney is also another wonderful person that was taken too early from the NFL. The league needs guys like these, not the TO’s and the Pacman’s and the other idiots.

by PABroncofan on Oct 9, 2008 2:56 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Ernie Davis

I remember seeing a documentary on him awhile back. H e was amazing, but died young or something?

See everything. Overlook a great deal. Improve a little. Pope John XXIII.

by bradley on Oct 9, 2008 7:38 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes...

He was drafted by the Browns to create the dream backfield, but before he could play in a game was stricken ill with Leukemia. Davis passed away without ever playing a game in the NFL…..

-TSG

SBNation's Denver Broncos Blogger
MileHighReport

Questions, Comments...E-Mail Me!
milehighreport@gmail.com

by John Bena (aka TheSportsGuru) on Oct 10, 2008 4:34 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

A Great loss to the pro game.

There would have been calls to break up the Browns, heck, there were anyway.

On the other hand, I might suggest a poem by Dylan Thomas named, “To An Athlete Dying Young”.

If this be Hell, let us make the most of it!

by Trinidad Jack on Oct 10, 2008 10:43 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Syracuse and RB's

In addition to Brown, Davis and Little, Larry Csonka played there, if my old gray cells are remembering correctly.

See everything. Overlook a great deal. Improve a little. Pope John XXIII.

by bradley on Oct 10, 2008 2:24 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

You are correct!

But Csonka didn’t wear # 44. BTW I ran into Csonka while fishing out on the Alaska Penninsula last year.

That’s ok with me. We’re playing for wins, not media publicity....HT 9/11/08

by firstfan on Oct 10, 2008 8:39 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

he turned down #44 right?

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by styg50 on Oct 10, 2008 10:54 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think it was offered.

At some point Syracuse retired the number in honor of Davis, Brown and Little.

That’s ok with me. We’re playing for wins, not media publicity....HT 9/11/08

by firstfan on Oct 11, 2008 12:21 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just saw Floyd on NFLN

Total Access talking about The Express. They even talked about how good Little was.

I was yelling at thje screen saying “then why the Hell isn’t he ion the hof”!

"It's all over Fat Man" - Tom Jackson to John Madden 1977 AFC Championship Game

"I love your analysis of our team. Its kinda like watching a spider monkey trying to figure out a jar of peanuts.. you know whats going on.. you know whats in there, but to actually figure it out, is just a bit beyond your mental skills..."
- Bronco Dano

by DesertBroncoFan on Oct 10, 2008 10:12 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Good for you DesertBroncoFan

That’s ok with me. We’re playing for wins, not media publicity....HT 9/11/08

by firstfan on Oct 11, 2008 12:20 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't EVEN get me started on ...

the joke that IS the NFL HoF. Bottom line, the Broncos have been one of the most wildly successful franchises in football since the mid-70s. And they now have 2 men in the HoF? What an absolute joke. Little should be in. Gradishar should have been a lock. And many others from that mid-70’s and on defense should have at least garnered some consideration.

MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.

by Bob in Boulder on Oct 13, 2008 5:42 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs