Photos: Jim Brown, the iconic leader
From serving as a civic leader, taking up an acting career and continuing to be a pillar in the Browns community, Jim Brown never stopped trying to leave a legendary mark on the world
FILE - In this Aug. 5, 1966, file photo, heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali, right, visits Cleveland Browns running back and actor Jim Brown on the film set of "The Dirty Dozen" at Morkyate, Bedfordshire, England. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Brown's family. He was 87. (AP Photo/File)
A photo from the Cleveland Browns Historical Archive
Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns on September 8, 2019 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Jim Brown poses for a portrait on February 24, 2017.
A photo from the Cleveland Browns Historical Archive
Jim Brown poses for a portrait on February 24, 2017.
A photo from the Cleveland Browns Historical Archive
Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns on September 8, 2019 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
FILE - Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, left, signs a copy of a Sports Illustrated cover as former Cleveland Browns football player Jim Brown watches, before an NBA basketball game between the Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 19, 2010, in Cleveland. The cover featured both James and Brown for the "Lakeside Legends" issue. "I hope every Black athlete takes the time to educate themselves about this incredible man and what he did to change all of our lives," James posted shortly after Brown's death. "We all stand on your shoulders Jim Brown. If you grew up in Northeast Ohio and were Black, Jim Brown was a God." (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
A photo from the Cleveland Browns Historical Archive
A photo from the Cleveland Browns Historical Archive
FILE - Former Cleveland Browns player Jim Brown, left, gets a hug from LeBron James, who holds the Larry O'Brien NBA championship trophy during a rally June 22, 2016, in Cleveland. "I hope every Black athlete takes the time to educate themselves about this incredible man and what he did to change all of our lives," James posted shortly after Brown's death. "We all stand on your shoulders Jim Brown. If you grew up in Northeast Ohio and were Black, Jim Brown was a God." (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns game on December 10, 2017 at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns lost 21–27 in overtime.
FILE 0 Muhammad Ali visits the film set of "The Dirty Dozen" with, from left, Jim Brown, Rahaman Ali, Clint Walker at Morkyate, Bedfordshire, England, Aug. 5, 1966. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Brown's family. He was 87. (AP Photo/File)
Jim Brown poses for a portrait on February 24, 2017.
FILE - Football player Jim Brown, right, wearing the uniform of a Marine Captain for an upcoming film, Ice Station Zero, where he is directed by John Sturges on Nov. 6, 1967. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Brown's family. He was 87. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Former football great Jim Brown, left, President of the Black Economic Union, confers with Mrs. Anne Faulkner, 74, in her poor neighborhood at Holly Springs, Miss., Feb. 11, 1970. Brown led about 25 black athletes for the firsthand look at conditions his BEU hopes to improve. In background is Leroy Kelly of the Cleveland Browns. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Brown's family. He was 87. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Jim Brown is introduced before the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan Fest Friday, May 2, 2014, at the International Exposition Center in Cleveland. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Brown's family. He was 87. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)
FILE - Pro Football Hall of Fame football star Jim Brown talks to a reporter following a news conference at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 1999. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Brown's family. He was 87. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - Jim Brown, who set the National Football League rushing record of 12,312 yards while playing for the Cleveland Browns, sits pensively in his home, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 1984, Los Angeles, Calif. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Brown's family. He was 87. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)
FILE - Jim Brown, center, picks up a trophy presented by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, to the members of Cleveland Browns 1964 Championship Team, at Severance Hall in Cleveland, Friday, Sept. 10, 2004. At left is Bernie Parish, and at right Paul Wiggin. The original trophy presented to the team after their 1964 victory over the Baltimore Colts is in the possession of the Green Bay Packers, who were the 1965 Championship Team. NFL legend, actor and social activist Jim Brown passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night, May 18, 2023, with his wife, Monique, by his side, according to a spokeswoman for Brown's family. He was 87. (AP Photo/Jamie-Andrea Yanak, File)
Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, left, and Commissioner Roger Goodell walk off the stage after Brown announced Georgia's Nick Chubb as a Cleveland Browns second-round pick during the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 27, 2018, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Jim Brown poses for a portrait on February 24, 2017.
Jim Brown, left, and LaDainian Tomlinson attend the 9th Annual NFL Honors at the Adrienne Arsht Center on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020, in Miami. (Jeff Lewis/AP Images for NFL)
Former NFL football player Jim Brown announces the Cleveland Browns selection of LSU cornerback Greedy Williams during the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2005, file photo, Jim Brown answers questions during a news conference about the retirement of the No. 44 jersey at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. Brown is being honored by the Syracuse University Alumni Association with the 2016 Arents Award. The award will be given Sept. 16. It's the school's highest alumni award, which honors excellence in athletics and social activism. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli, File)
Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown poses for a photo during the NFL Honors awards show on Feb. 6, 2016 in San Francisco. (Ben Liebenberg via AP)
Former and current professional athletes, from left, Jim Brown, Takeo Spikes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chris Webber, Anquan Boldin and Tommie Smith alongside Dr. Harry Edwards, participate in a sports and activism panel entitled "From Protest to Progress: Next Steps" Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Former Washington Redskin Doug Williams, left, stands with former Cleveland Brown Jim Brown before an NFL preseason football game Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2014, file photo, back row from left, John Wooten, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Bobby Mitchell stand behind Muhammad Ali before the start of the Ali Humanitarian Awards ceremony in Louisville, Ky. The death of Muhammad Ali left a profound effect on many, even fellow legends. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)
New York Jets at Cleveland Browns game on October 8, 2017 at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns lost 14–17
Pro Football Hall of Fame members Marshall Faulk, Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin speak to each other during an interview at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Aug. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Ben Liebenberg)
Hall of Fame football player Jim Brown, left, speaks with Hall of Fame basketball player Bill Russell during a meeting with other participants of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014 at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Tight end David Njoku (85) and Jim Brown after walk-through on September 25, 2021.
Lynn Swann, from left, Hines Ward, Terry Bradshaw, Jim Brown, Archie Manning, Santonio Holmes and Franco Harris pose in the audience at the 5th annual NFL Honors at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016, in San Francisco. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for NFL/AP Images)
Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell, and moderator Harry Edwards, from left, take part in the "Sports and Race: Leveling the Playing Field" panel during the Civil Rights Summit on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Austin, Texas. Brown and Russell discussed using their platforms in their respective sports to raise awareness for civil rights. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)
Jim Brown during a NFL football game between the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns on September 8, 2019 at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns lost 13-43.
General Manager Andrew Berry and Jim Brown after walk-through on September 25, 2021.
Running back Nick Chubb (24) and Jim Brown after walk-through on September 25, 2021.
The Browns unveiled a statue of quarterback Otto Graham on September 7, 2019 at FirstEnergy Stadium
Greg Pruitt, Jim Brown, Paul Warfield and Bernie Kosar during a NFL football game between the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns on September 8, 2019 at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns lost 13-43.
Muhammad Ali, right, world heavyweight boxing champion, has a friendly bout with an old buddy from the U.S., Jim Brown, of the the Cleveland Browns football team, at Hyde Park in London, May 12, 1966. Brown is in England to take part in a new war film. Ali's regular sparring partner, Jimmy Ellis is in the background. (AP Photo)
Former Cleveland Browns Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown speaks during a ceremony as he is honored with a statue outside FirstEnergy Stadium before an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown announces the draft pick for the Cleveland Browns during the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, NY on Apr. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Ben Liebenberg)
Former football player Jim Brown is seen in 1974, location unknown. (AP Photo)
Cleveland fullback Jim Brown reads the New York daily news which headlined him on its back page after moving the ball 234 yards at Yankee Stadium in the Browns 38-14 romp over the New York Giants, Oct. 25, 1965. Earlier on October 25, brown signed a contract to do between the-rounds commentary on a closed circuit telecast of the November 1, Ernie Terrell-George Chuvalo heavyweight title fight in Toronto. (AP Photo)
Jim Brown before a NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns on September 22, 2019 at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns lost 13-20.
Jim Brown, who set the National Football League rushing record of 12,312 yards while playing for the Cleveland Browns, sits pensively in his home, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 1984, Los Angeles, Calif. After talking about a comeback last year, Brown now says his place in NFL history if not record book is secure. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson talks with fullback Jim Brown of the Cleveland Brown professional football team at the White House office December 16, 1963. Brown, who gained more than a mile during the 1963 season, and his teammates defeated the Washington Redskins 27-20. December 15, in Washington DC. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges)
Jim Brown, former professional football player and movie actor, speaks out at a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 1977, announcing the plans for a Hollywood Bowl Gala program sponsored by Save Our Rights Foundation, Inc., a group advocating gay rights. The event will headline Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, and Richard Pryor along with dozens of other entertainment personalities. (AP Photo/ George Brich)
Jim Brown with Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) at Sport Magazine Top Performance Award on Jan. 19, 1966. (AP Photo)
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski and Jim Brown after walk-through on September 25, 2021.
Clay Matthews Jr ring of honor ceremony on September 22, 2019
