Floyd Douglas Little,
(born July 4, 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut) is a Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, and was a three-time American football All-American running back at Syracuse University, following in the footsteps of many great running backs at Syracuse such as Jim Brown and Ernie Davis. In 1967 Floyd Little 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" for saving the team from certain relocation by forcing the expansion of Mile High Stadium and generating a string of sellouts that lasts today.
Little led Professional Football 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.
Legend has it that he was "fired" by coach Lou Saban after a fumble that led to a late-game lead for the Buffalo Bills in 1968. Little, after refusing to leave the huddle, asked QB Marlin Briscoe to "throw the ball as far as you can and I'll catch it." Briscoe threw it, Little caught it, and the Broncos kicked a winning field goal.
Little became a charter member of 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; the following year he became the first Bronco to eclipse 1,000 yards, gaining 1,133, to lead the entire NFL. 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 just 5'10" and 195 pounds, Little was a pioneer who became the smallest back to lead the league in rushing since before World War II. He was as versatile as he was exciting. He led the league in combined yards in 1967 & 68 and was the only player to return punts for TDs in both seasons. During his prime, 1968–73, he led the NFL in both yards Rushing and Yards from Scrimmage (rushing and receiving). Little was voted "Running Back of the year" in 1972 by the Professional Football Writers of America, and was 1 of just 7 players to total more than 100 yards (104) per game. Incredibly, despite spending most of his career as the lone offensive threat on a losing team, he was one of the most explosive offensive threats of his time.
Despite retiring as the 7th leading rusher in Pro Football history, Little had not yet been admitted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while the first six were in the Hall of Fame. This was typical of players who played or started their careers in the old American Football League, which to this day is still some what under-represented in the Hall of Fame. In the summer of 2009, Little was nominated and became a finalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was finally rewarded for his career in Professional Football and was voted in on February 6, 2010, his induction took place in Canton, OH on August 7, 2010. Little was the first Bronco to have his jersey number "44" officially retired.
Little also coached at the University of California, Santa Barbara, 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 the Richard Karn era of Family Feud in the mid-2000's.
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.
Little formerly owned automobile dealerships in Denver, the Seattle area and Santa Barbara, though he is said to now be retired.
He was portrayed in the 2008 Ernie Davis biopic The Express by Chadwick Boseman.
Inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside Floyd on August 7, 2010 are Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, and Dick LeBeau.
Statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attempts | Yards | Y/A | TDs | Rec | Yards | Y/R | TDs | |||
| 1967 | Denver Broncos | 13 | 130 | 381 | 2.9 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 1968 | Denver Broncos | 11 | 158 | 584 | 3.7 | 3 | 19 | 331 | 17.4 | 1 |
| 1969 | Denver Broncos | 9 | 146 | 729 | 5.0 | 6 | 19 | 218 | 11.5 | 1 |
| 1970 | Denver Broncos | 14 | 209 | 901 | 4.3 | 3 | 17 | 161 | 9.5 | 0 |
| 1971 | Denver Broncos | 13 | 284 | 1133 | 4.0 | 6 | 26 | 255 | 9.8 | 0 |
| 1972 | Denver Broncos | 14 | 216 | 859 | 4.0 | 9 | 28 | 367 | 13.1 | 4 |
| 1973 | Denver Broncos | 14 | 256 | 979 | 3.8 | 12 | 41 | 423 | 10.3 | 1 |
| 1974 | Denver Broncos | 14 | 117 | 312 | 2.7 | 1 | 29 | 344 | 11.9 | 0 |
| 1975 | Denver Broncos | 14 | 125 | 445 | 3.6 | 2 | 29 | 308 | 10.6 | 2 |
| Career | Denver Broncos | 117 | 1641 | 6323 | 3.9 | 43 | 215 | 2418 | 11.2 | 9 |
(source:wikipedia)
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