CANTON, Ohio — As the Pro Football Hall of Fame prepares to enshrine nine new members this weekend, perhaps the greatest inductee ever is also being remembered, the late former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown.
Nearly three months after his passing, Brown’s impact on football and society remains.
When the Browns took the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Thursday night, each player sported Brown's No. 32 on their helmets in his honor.
His daughter Kimberly Brown watched the Hall of Fame Game in Canton and spoke with 3News about how grateful she is for Cleveland fans and the city that gave her father so much.
“I can’t even express the words, the love that you have for my father,” Brown said, sighing deeply.
The day had been filled with tributes to her father, an NFL great, actor and civil rights leader.
It included ‘The Life and Legacy of Jim Brown’ commemoration, a chance for colleagues and friends to reflect on the 87-year-old and his life. Hall of Fame Linebacker Ray Lewis even shared a touching albeit humored interaction with Brown who used a walker before his death.
“He walked up he said, if I put this walker down, I still don’t think you could stop me from getting a yard,” Lewis jested.
“Jim Brown was a groundbreaker, changed lives, changed the world in so many ways,” Mike Tirico of NBC Sports added.
Reflecting on the commemoration, Kimberly Brown was brought to tears.
“Just seeing the people and the tribute today meant so much. For the city that always embraced my father and his legacy and always cheered him on,” Brown said.
In her dad’s footsteps, Kimberly also plays football in the all-women’s X-League. She is also carrying on his civil rights work.
She added, “you know I can’t say enough about the community of Cleveland. I love Cleveland just for that. Of how they treated my father and how they loved him.”
And continue to love him even after his death.