Floyd Little
Encyclopedia
Floyd Douglas Little is a Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, and was a three-time American football
All-American running back
at Syracuse University
. In 1967 he was the 6th selection of the first common AFL-NFL draft
. He was the first ever first-round draft pick to sign with the American Football League
's Denver Broncos
where he was known simply as "The Franchise."
in rushing for the six-year period from 1968 to 1973. He retired as the 7th leading rusher in Professional Football history with 6,323 yards rushing and 54 touchdowns. As a Denver Broncos, Little was team captain in his rookie season and in his final season.
Little was one of the first players selected for the Broncos' Ring of Fame in 1984. He was the first Bronco to win the rushing title in the new AFC in 1970 with 901 yards and the following year he became the first Bronco to eclipse 1,000 yards, gaining 1,133 to lead the NFL. Little was the first player to lead his conference in rushing for a last place team and the 13th player ever in professional football to rush for at least 1,000 yards in one season. He was an American Football League All-Star
in 1968, named first-team "All-AFL" in 1969, and made the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl in 1970, 1971 and 1973. At 5'10" and 195 pounds, Little was the smallest back to lead the league in rushing since World War II. He led the league in combined yards in 1967 & 68 and was the only player to return punts for TDs in both seasons. From 1968 to 1973 he led the NFL in Rushing and Yards from Scrimmage (rushing and receiving).
In 2009 Little was a finalist for induction into the Hall of Fame. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/sns-ap-fbn-floyd-little-hall-of-fame,0,712134.story He was voted in on February 6, 2010, his induction took place in Canton, OH on August 7, 2010.http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/sns-ap-fbn-floyd-little-hall-of-fame,0,712134.story Little was the first Bronco to have his jersey number "44" retired.
when the university briefly reinstated NCAA football in the mid-eighties. He briefly served as a Football analyst for NBC
in the late 1970s, and was featured as a contestant on Family Feud
in the mid-2000s. Little is a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, D.C.
National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll. In 1983 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
.
law school, from which he received his masters in legal administration degree in 1975. Little owned automobile dealerships in Denver, the Seattle
area and Santa Barbara
, though he is believed to be retired.
He graduated from Bordentown Military Institute (BMI), Bordentown, NJ, in 1963. He was portrayed in the 2008 Ernie Davis
biopic The Express
by Chadwick Boseman
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
All-American running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
. In 1967 he was the 6th selection of the first common AFL-NFL draft
Common Draft
The Common Draft was the name given to the selection of college football players in a combined draft from 1967 to 1969 by the American Football League and the National Football League . This took place after the AFL-NFL merger agreement in 1966....
. He was the first ever first-round draft pick to sign with the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
's Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
where he was known simply as "The Franchise."
Syracuse
Little was the only three time All-America running back to compete for the Syracuse University Orange.Professional career
Little led American Professional FootballProfessional football
In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...
in rushing for the six-year period from 1968 to 1973. He retired as the 7th leading rusher in Professional Football history with 6,323 yards rushing and 54 touchdowns. As a Denver Broncos, Little was team captain in his rookie season and in his final season.
Little was one of the first players selected for the Broncos' Ring of Fame in 1984. He was the first Bronco to win the rushing title in the new AFC in 1970 with 901 yards and the following year he became the first Bronco to eclipse 1,000 yards, gaining 1,133 to lead the NFL. Little was the first player to lead his conference in rushing for a last place team and the 13th player ever in professional football to rush for at least 1,000 yards in one season. He was an American Football League All-Star
American Football League All-Star games
-All-League Teams:The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969...
in 1968, named first-team "All-AFL" in 1969, and made the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl in 1970, 1971 and 1973. At 5'10" and 195 pounds, Little was the smallest back to lead the league in rushing since World War II. He led the league in combined yards in 1967 & 68 and was the only player to return punts for TDs in both seasons. From 1968 to 1973 he led the NFL in Rushing and Yards from Scrimmage (rushing and receiving).
In 2009 Little was a finalist for induction into the Hall of Fame. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/sns-ap-fbn-floyd-little-hall-of-fame,0,712134.story He was voted in on February 6, 2010, his induction took place in Canton, OH on August 7, 2010.http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/sns-ap-fbn-floyd-little-hall-of-fame,0,712134.story Little was the first Bronco to have his jersey number "44" retired.
Post football
Little coached at the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
when the university briefly reinstated NCAA football in the mid-eighties. He briefly served as a Football analyst for NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
in the late 1970s, and was featured as a contestant on Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
in the mid-2000s. Little is a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, D.C.
The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C.
The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., Inc. was founded in 1938 with the goals of "improving relationship between persons interested in the game of football; that there may be given encouragement for good, clean sport; that there may be a more perfect understanding among such persons; and, that...
National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll. In 1983 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
Other
Little finished 40th in his class of 140 at the University of DenverUniversity of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
law school, from which he received his masters in legal administration degree in 1975. Little owned automobile dealerships in Denver, the Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
area and Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, though he is believed to be retired.
He graduated from Bordentown Military Institute (BMI), Bordentown, NJ, in 1963. He was portrayed in the 2008 Ernie Davis
Ernie Davis
Ernest "Ernie" Davis was an American football running back and the first African-American athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. Wearing number 44, Davis competed collegiately for Syracuse University before being drafted by the Washington Redskins, then almost immediately traded to the Cleveland...
biopic The Express
The Express
The Express is a 2008 American sports film produced by John Davis and directed by Gary Fleder. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Charles Leavitt from a book titled Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, authored by Robert C. Gallagher...
by Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Boseman, sometimes credited as Chad Boseman, is an African American actor and screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for his role on Lincoln Heights as Nathaniel 'Nate' Ray and his role as Sergeant McNair in the NBC television series, Persons Unknown.-Biography:He is a playwright and...
.
Awards and honors
- His number 44 was retired by Syracuse in 2005.
- On August 7, 2010, Little was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside Jerry RiceJerry RiceJerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
, Emmitt SmithEmmitt SmithEmmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...
, Russ GrimmRuss GrimmRussell Scott Grimm is a former American football guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. As a collegian, he was an All-American center at the University of Pittsburgh. As a professional, Grimm had multi-selections to both the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, and was...
, Rickey JacksonRickey JacksonRickey Anderson Jackson is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers . In 1997, Jackson was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. Jackson won a Super Bowl ring with the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX one year before retiring...
, John RandleJohn RandleJohn Anthony Randle played defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL. On February 6, 2010 he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Born in Mumford, Texas, Randle was raised poor, and worked odd jobs when he was young. His brother Ervin Randle played as...
, and Dick LeBeauDick LeBeauCharles Richard “Dick” LeBeau is a National Football League Hall of Fame defensive back. He is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator and is considered to be one of the greatest defensive coordinators of all time. He spent 14 years in the NFL as a player with the Detroit Lions and...
.
- On September 15, 2011, the New Haven Athletic Center, billed as the largest scholastic athletics facility in New England, was renamed the Floyd Little Athletic Center.
Statistics
| Year | | Team | | Games | | Rushing | | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attempts | Yards | Y/A | TDs | Rec | Yards | Y/R | TDs | |||
| 1967 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
13 | 130 | 381 | 2.9 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 1968 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
11 | 158 | 584 | 3.7 | 3 | 19 | 331 | 17.4 | 1 |
| 1969 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
9 | 146 | 729 | 5.0 | 6 | 19 | 218 | 11.5 | 1 |
| 1970 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
14 | 209 | 901 | 4.3 | 3 | 17 | 161 | 9.5 | 0 |
| 1971 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
13 | 284 | 1133 | 4.0 | 6 | 26 | 255 | 9.8 | 0 |
| 1972 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
14 | 216 | 859 | 4.0 | 9 | 28 | 367 | 13.1 | 4 |
| 1973 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
14 | 256 | 979 | 3.8 | 12 | 41 | 423 | 10.3 | 1 |
| 1974 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
14 | 117 | 312 | 2.7 | 1 | 29 | 344 | 11.9 | 0 |
| 1975 | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
14 | 125 | 445 | 3.6 | 2 | 29 | 308 | 10.6 | 2 |
| Career | Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
117 | 1641 | 6323 | 3.9 | 43 | 215 | 2418 | 11.2 | 9 |