Whitlock: "Jim Brown is the Most Important Athlete in American History"

Sirs, Madames,

Back in Dec 1999, we had to do a best-of-the-century line-up. I made the case that Jack Johnson was the most important athlete of the century. Before Ken Burns did his doc. I'll stand by it.

o-<

 

He made black athletes believe they could bed white women.
But seriously, Brown has always been at the forefront of social causes. I'm not saying he's the most important athlete in American History but the list of those who would rank ahead of him isn't very long.

 

Sure there would. Paige was almost certainly the most widely-known Negro Leaguer, but as we all know, there were many, many others.

Pro football was already re-integrating even before Robinson signed with the Montreal Royals -- Marion Motley and Bill Willis signed with the AAFC Cleveland Browns prior to the 1946 season.

Rickey had written off Satchel Paige fairly early in his search for a suitable trailblazer, first because of his age (Rickey wanted a player still young enough to have a career of significant length), and also because Satchel had somewhat of a reputation as a skirt-chaser over his career (Rickey wanted someone with a solid family image, and that was Robinson). In addition as you indicate, Paige would probably not have gone along with Rickey's cheek-turning plan; he was never shy to pipe up if anyone tried to Jim Crow him.

Brown is definitely right up there, but I would rank them as follows:

1. Jackie Robinson
2. Babe Ruth: established the concept of athlete as cultural superstar.
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Jesse Owens
5. Albert Spalding: the game's dominant pitcher in the pre-National League era, then was the moving force in the establishment of the National League, which embodied the tradition of fan bases rooting for teams over a continuing period. Before Spalding and the formation of the NL, sports teams were just bunches of guys who decided to get together in the springtime and play baseball in any particular summer.

 

Curt Flood weeps.

Byron White was a Supreme Court justice fer cryin' out loud.

Ted Williams put his body in a 500 mph jet for his country - in the prime of his career. Others sacrificed their life.

I need a whole lot more evidence than ol' Peephole Whitlock telling me that Brown is the most important, before I actually believe it.

 

I think Jack Johnson beat Jim Brown to the "bedding white women" by about 55 years.

As to forefront of social causes: the same could be said of Al Sharpton.

 

True on both counts. But before there was Al, there was Jim.

 

Yeah, but when it comes to social causes, I hold them in the same regard.


Everytime I read Whitlock, I am reminded why I so miss Ralph Wiley.

 

Whitlock is no Ralph Wiley. Not even close. Whitlock is Whitlock.

 

That same season, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode joined the Rams of the NFL when they moved to Los Angeles from Cleveland.

 

But Jim Brown liked to kill Nazis (Dirty Dozen)

That being said, the NFL had black players (see Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall) since the 20s. But the then owner of the Redskins (go figure) didn't want his players to go against black athletes.

 

He also killed Telly Savalas, for which he can choke on a dick. ;D

 

Mr. Friend O' beat me to Jack Johnson. I'll add Joe Louis to this discussion too.