The Browns opened the 1966 regular season with a big question: Who was going to replace Jim Brown?
Just two weeks before training camp began, Brown announced from a movie set in London that he was retiring to pursue a career as a movie actor. In his nine seasons, all with the Browns, since arriving as the No. 6 overall pick out of Syracuse in the 1957 NFL Draft, he had smashed all the league’s rushing records and thus had become not just the best running back in the game’s history, but also its greatest player at any position.
Before Brown came along, there had been Marion Motley, so the Browns, in all but three seasons since their inception in 1946, had had a game-changing runner, or runners, as it were when Bobby Mitchell played from 1958-61. But had the well finally run dry?
As he was retiring, Brown assured team owner Art Modell and head coach Blanton Collier that the team would be fine. He told them that is successor was already on the roster in Leroy Kelly, an obscure eighth-round draft choice in 1964 out of tiny Morgan State who had played almost exclusively as a punt returner in his first two seasons. He had excelled in that regard, but being a great returner and a great running back are two entirely different things.
As it turned out, Brown was right on point, and Kelly began showing some evidence of that 48 years ago today, on Sept. 11, 1966, in a 38-14 victory over the host Washington Redskins in the opener.
He had 16 carries for 54 yards, including a 29-yarder for a touchdown in the first quarter that helped ignite a Cleveland comeback after the Redskins had jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
Kelly would build greatly upon that first game, finishing the season with 1,141 yards and a league-best 15 rushing touchdowns. He averaged 5.5 yards a carry.
He also proved adept as a pass receiver with 32 catches.
Kelly got even better as he gained experience, leading the NFL in rushing the following two seasons.
But the ultimate proof of the truthfulness of Brown’s prediction is that Kelly is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with Brown, Motley and Mitchell.
So Jim Brown was not just a great player, but also a pretty astute judge of talent.
