San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Syracuse, Broncos great helped save Denver team
Floyd Little, the great 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 in Nevada. No cause was given.
“Floyd Little was not only a Hall of Fame running back, he was a Hall of Fame person,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “Faith, family and football were the pillars of his life.”
Little was a threetime AllAmerican at Syracuse, where he wore No. 44 like Jim Brown and Ernie Davis before him. From 196466, he ran for 2,704 yards and 46 touchdowns.
A native of New Haven, Conn., he was the sixth overall pick in the 1967 AFLNFL 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team from relocating and helped persuade voters to approve funds for the old, iconic Mile High Stadium, which has since been replaced by Empower Field at Mile High.
“I know when I got there the talk was about the team moving to Chicago or Birmingham,” Ala., Little told the Associated Press in an interview in 2009. “So I supposedly saved the franchise, and I think ( former team spokesman) Jim Saccomano gave me that nickname. It’s been a part of my name ever since.”
Little was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
“Floyd Little was a true hero of the game,” said David Baker, president and CEO of the pro hall. “He was a man of great integrity, passion and courage. His contributions off the field were even greater than his amazing accomplishments he did on it.”
A fivetime Pro Bowler, Little led the NFL in rushing in 1971 with 1,133 yards and in touchdown runs in 1973 with 12. He also was one of the league’s best kick returners, leading the AFL in punt returns as a rookie in 1967.
During his nineyear pro career, Little rushed for 6,323 yards and 43 touchdowns and caught 215 passes for 2,418 yards and nine TDs.
After a threedecade wait, Little made it into Canton in 2010. He told the AP when he was nominated by the hall’s senior committee that he had given up hope of ever making it into the Hall of Fame.
“I was running out of guys who had seen me play,” said Little, whose career in Denver spanned the years 196775, lean times in the former AFL franchise’s history. “The people that had seen me play were starting to fade off and retire. All these guys were no longer there, so who’s going to talk about Floyd Little? Nobody. I thought I’d just fallen through the cracks never to be seen or heard from again.” An exteammate of Little’s at Syracuse, Pat Killorin, made Little’s cancer diagnosis public in May when he created a GoFundMe page to help the family with treatment costs.
Little is survived by his wife, Deborah.