Jim Brown was a gifted and complex man

TOKYO — I read with sadness of the passing of Jim Brown, former NFL legend, movie star, political activist, and a hero of mine.

For those of you who don’t know the name Jim Brown. Here’s a little review. He was the greatest running back in the history of the NFL. He played for the Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965 and is the only NFL player to average over 100 yards a game rushing for his entire career. At 6’2” 230 pounds, it usually took at least two defensive players to tackle him.

He retired from football to pursue an acting career and became Hollywood’s first ever black action hero. He appeared in the 1969 western film “100 Rifles” opposite Burt Reynolds and then screen goddess Raquel Welch. His love scenes with Welch, then generally regarded as the sexiest actress in Hollywood, made movie history as the first interracial sex scenes involving a black man and a white woman.