Former Cleveland Browns fullback Jim Brown has died at age 87.
According to TMZ, Brown had been facing recent health problems. His wife, Monique Brown, shared the news of her husband's passing in a statement.
"It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my husband, Jim Brown," she wrote. "He passed away peacefully last night at our LA home. To the world he was an activist, actor, and football star. To our family, he was a loving and wonderful husband, father and grandfather. Our hearts are broken."
Brown, who played with Cleveland from 1957 through 1965, is widely considered to be not only the one of the greatest running backs of all time, but one of the greatest players in NFL history. Among his various athletic accomplishments are winning the NFL championship with the Browns in 1964, being recognized as the NFL Most Valuable Player on three separate occasions, and being invited to the Pro Bowl every season he was in the league.
By the time he retired, Brown held most major rushing records, leading the league in eight out of his nine seasons.
After his retirement, he spent some time in Hollywood, acting in 1960s films such as The Dirty Dozen, The Split, and 100 Rifles. He also appeared in a number of blaxploitation films in the '70s, and went on to spoof his own image in Keenen Ivory Wayans' 1988 parody, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.
Off the field, Brown faced several domestic violence arrests. Although he was acquitted or had charges dropped in those cases, he was convicted on a related 1999 vandalism charge and serve six months in prison after refusing to attend court-mandated domestic violence counseling.
Before his death, he was reportedly visited by several close friends including Marshall Faulk, Eric Dickerson, and Flava Flav.
