NFL star Brown was rights advocate and actor

NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown, the unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his brilliant career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate, has died at the age of 87.

A spokeswoman for Brown’s family said he passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night with his wife, Monique, by his side.

One of the greatest players and one of the first superstars, Brown shattered the NFL record books in a short career spanning 1957-65.

Brown led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title in 1964 before retiring in his prime after the 1965 season to become an actor.

He appeared in more than 30 films – including

Any Given Sunday and The Dirty Dozen.

An unstoppable runner with power, speed and endurance, Brown’s arrival sparked the game’s popularity on television.

When he finished playing, Brown became a prominent leader in the Black Power movement during the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.

In later years, he worked to curb gang violence in LA and founded Amer-i-can – a programme to help disadvantaged inner-city youth and ex-convicts.

On the field, there was no one like Brown, who would dominate opposing linebackers and defensive backs.

He was also famous for using a stiff arm to push them away like rag dolls.

“My arms were like my protectors and weapons,”

Brown said during an interview with NFL Films.

Indeed, Brown was unlike any back before him, and some feel there has never been anyone better than Cleveland’s incomparable No 32.

At 6ft 2ins and 230 pounds, he was dominant, relentless and without mercy, his highlight reels featuring runs around and right through opponents, fighting for every yard, dragging multiple defenders along or finding holes where none seemed to exist.

Off the field, Brown was a contentious character.

While he had a soft spot for those in need, and his generosity changed lives, he also was arrested a halfdozen times, mostly on charges of hitting women.

He also feuded with Browns coach Paul Brown and later with the team’s management, although he played his entire career with Cleveland.

Among his films were 100 Rifles, Mars Attacks! Spike Lee’s He Got Game, Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday, and the satire I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, in which he parodied the blaxploitation genre.

In 2002, Brown was the subject of Lee’s HBO documentary Jim Brown: All-american.

Brown was an eight-time All-pro and went to the Pro Bowl in each of his nine years in the league. When Brown walked away from the game at age 30, he held the league’s records for yards (12,312) and touchdowns (126).

And despite his bruising style, Browns never missed a game, playing in 118 straight.

RUNNING BACK: Jim Brown was unstoppable at times.