OT: Jim Brown, G.O.A.T.? Yes or No.

Greatest running back? Yes

Greatest football player? Maybe. It's between him, Jerry Rice, and Lawrence Taylor IMHO.

Greatest athlete? He's up there with Ali, Jordan, Ruth and Bo Jackson.

Shit

Nope. He could be, but no way to know. 5.2 yards per carry. How did they lose? Can't pick the GOAT from an era when linebackers had beer bellies. LT is intriguing, that dude could completely takeover a game.

He was a bit before my time. I never saw him play.

But it's really difficult to compare players of different eras. Cam Newton is bigger than most of the offensive lineman of the 60's.

Brown played against defensive players who smoked cigarettes at halftime. He played against players who didn't spend the off season working out. They were so poorly paid most had to work real jobs in the off season. They showed up at camp fat and out of shape.

Brown may be the greatest of all time. It makes fun conversation but you just can't make a fair comparison.

I could never decide is Jim Brown awesome or just a grouchy old man?

Different era, different rules, different competition which leads to different stats and impact. And that's just naming football. All these arguments typically boil down to "my favorite player of all time" and worked backwards into "greatest of all time"

Personally I think when it's all said and done my vote would be Tom Brady despite actively rooting against him. Now this is just football and the way I see it is if I had the first pick to draft any player in history who would I pick.

"I could never decide is Jim Brown awesome or just a grouchy old man?"

Yes!

He does a great job on Fox NFL Sunday.

He does a great job on Fox NFL Sunday.

He was way before my time, but people who watched him have told me from watching games that he was the best running back ever, but never heard him thought of as best player ever.

Agree with the others who are saying it's hard to gauge greatest of all time, especially guys separated by 4 or 5 or more generations of players. I keep in mind he played against generally inferior athletes than today, as well as with and against a higher percentage of white guys. Also I think no other of the big North American sports changes and evolves as much as football through the years. That adds to the difficulty of calibrating the best to ever play the game.
He was also way before my time and I've never seen whole games of him playing. FWIW, in my lifetime (also a Gen X'er), to me the most talented and entertaining to watch was Barry Sanders, the most athletic specimen was Bo Jackson, and the most prolific and successful career was Emmitt Smith. And that's only considering RB's. The all around GOAT, to me, is Montana with Brady right on his heels. Certainly a case can be made for Brady right now. I expect him to take my top spot when his career is done. But for now, childhood nostalgia of heroes reigns supreme.

Jim Brown was the greatest running back of all time. The way you compare players of different eras is how much better than their peers were they. Brown was head and shoulders above the other runners. Crappy linebackers? Brown was the only one tearing them up. Take Ruth and Bonds. Ruth hit more homers in a season than entire teams. Bonds did not.

Jim Brown second greatest running back.

GOAT RB = Walter Payton.

How many of you knew that Jim Brown was also an All-American lacrosse player at Cornell?

That accounts for a big part of why he he was in such good condition!

The closest player to destroying his competition like Brown was Sanders

"How many of you knew that Jim Brown was also an All-American lacrosse player at Cornell?"

Try Syracuse, not Cornell, LOL

Doh!!!! You're right of course. I knew it was one of those New York schools.

Although, I assume that Syracuse played Cornell once or twice a year. Then I would be correct in saying the he played at Syracuse. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! ;-D

This has been a good topic. I agree with most of what you are saying including Brown being a grouchy old man, LOL! Thanks everyone.

So hard to decide. I know guys who saw him play and would fight you 8 days a week if you suggested anyone else as the GOAT. While he played in a very different era, like Wilt in the NBA, his career was too short compared to other guys in the argument. Respect him getting out before he was too beat up but still.

Even I'm not old enough to have seen him play so I'm unqualified to provide a knowledgable opinion. My dad says he is.

With athletes getting bigger, stronger, and faster all the time I find it hard to believe that he was better than the best of today. He was probably most dominant against his contemporaries, but I can't imagine he was that far ahead of his time.