Star running back for Syracuse, Broncos
Floyd Little, the running back who starred at Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos, has died. He was 78.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame said he died Friday night at his home in Nevada. No cause was given.
From New Haven, Connecticut, he was the sixth overall pick in the 1967 AFL- NFL draft. He played nine seasons in Denver, where he earned the nickname “The Franchise” because his signing was credited with keeping the team from relocating and helped persuade voters to approve funds for the old, iconic Mile High Stadium.
Little was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Little overlapped at Syracuse with U. S. President- elect Joe Biden, who said in a statement Saturday the pair had become friends and often spoke by phone after Orange football games.
A five- time Pro Bowler, Little led the NFL in rushing in 1971 with 1,133 yards and in touchdown runs in 1973 with 12.
During his nine- year pro career, Little rushed for 6,323 yards and 43 touchdowns and caught 215 passes for 2,418 yards and nine TDs. He had the most all- purpose yards in football and ranked second only to O. J. Simpson in yards rushing during the years he played.
After a three- decade wait, Little made it into Canton in 2010.
During his long wait for enshrinement, Little said he was regularly approached by fans wanting him to settle a bet: Which year did he go into the Hall of Fame?
“And I have to tell them I’m not in the Hall of Fame and I’ve never even been nominated,” Little once said.
Little decided not to get his hopes up anymore, but a few years later, the senior committee nominated him, allowing him to dream anew about football immortality. On the eve of his selection, he said he’d had a premonition that his time was coming.
“It’s the 44th Super Bowl,” Little said in 2010. “An African- American just became our 44th president. I wore No. 44. I just feel it’s my time.”
He was right: Hall Vice President Joe Horrigan called him with the good news the day before the Super Bowl in 2010.
“I was numb,” Little said. “I knew he wasn’t calling to tell me I was passed over again.”
Little said he learned a valuable lesson that day: “Well, you don’t give up on your dreams.”