JIM BROWN - PRINTED ART SIGNED IN INK CO-SIGNED BY: GARY THOMAS - HFSID 284852

JIM BROWN
Limited edition color print (26x32, matted and framed to 31x37), also signed by artist Gary Thomas
Printed Art signed in ink: "Jim Brown", 26x32, matted and framed to 31x37. Also signed by the artist "Gary Thomas" in lower margin. Numbered 1865 in a limited edition of 3200. The art illustrates, with captions, highlights in Brown's football career. A first team All-American fullback at Syracuse, James Nathaniel "JIM" BROWN (1936-2023) was the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 1957. In nine remarkable NFL seasons (1957-1965) with the Cleveland Browns, Brown averaged 104 yards per game and a record 5.2 yards per rushing carry, and he never missed a game! Brown rushed for over 1,000 yards in seven seasons, at a time when the NFL season was only 12 (and then 14) games long. In 2002, "Sporting News" named Brown the greatest professional football player of the 20th century. In 1966, he retired from football at the top of his game to pursue a movie career. While his acting skills never matched his football prowess, Brown performed credibly in such films as Ice Station Zebra (1968), 100 Rifles (1969) and Original Gangstas (1996). A community activist, he has also worked to promote Black-owned businesses, to equip ex-convicts with job skills and to mediate disputes among rival youth gangs. Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971. GARY THOMAS, a commercial artist specializing in sports, has been employed since 1963 by the Football Hall of Fame to furnish the display illustrations of inductees. He has also held commissions from the bowling and US Olympic Halls of Fame, as well as several universities, including Ohio State and Notre Dame. Matt is scratched at upper left - 3" from corner. Frame has rub marks up and down sides. No protective cover on art but in overall fine condition. Not framed in the Gallery of History style.