Jim Brown: Quotes From the Legendary Running Back

Tennessee fans used to get upset that Paul Hornung, quarterback of a Notre Dame team that had a losing record, won the 1956 Heisman over Johnny Majors. That never upset Majors, though, and when he was asked who should have won the 1956 Heisman, he would reply, “Jim Brown.”

A running back at Syracuse, Jim Brown finished fifth in voting, with the consensus today being that he deserved the Heisman. However, his race kept him from getting the votes needed to win it. An All-American with his No. 44 retired at Syracuse, Jim Brown would become a first-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns, where he quickly became the best running back in football. There, the Hall of Fame back would be a three-time MVP and eight-time All-Pro.

Jim Brown is one of the most important players in NFL history, and he has a long history that is worth remembering.

10 Best Quotes From Jim Brown

1. “When you have a problem, rules don’t solve your problem. It’s caring and education.”
2. “I think of my life as a journey, and I’m still on it.”
3. “Education, family, character, intelligence, humility, okay? These are the things that make a culture live.”
4. “The three greatest people in my life as a young person were white. I’m not a person that really deals in color.”
5. “There were a lot of running backs as good as me. The real difference was that I could focus. I never laid back and relied on natural ability.”
6. “When you go out on a football field, you are responsible for taking care of yourself. The more rules you get, the less players truly take care of themselves.”
7. “If you truly believe something, and it’s incorrect, that doesn’t mean you don’t have integrity.”
8. “Money has stepped to the forefront of everything.”
9. “I’d like to make one thing very clear: Muhammad Ali loved people, and he had white friends as well as Black friends – and the only thing that he hated was discrimination and racism.”
10. “You cannot get me to be disloyal to a friend. You just can’t do it. Loyalty is a part of what I live by. I didn’t say I was going to be loyal to my friend because he was right. I’m going to be loyal to my friend because he’s my friend.”

Inspirational Quotes From Brown

• “I don’t deal in frustration. I’m a fighter. And everything I’ve ever gotten, I’ve had to fight for.”
• “I listened to my kids talk about me as a parent, and I learned about things they wished I’d done and said. And I wished that I had done more of those things.”
• “The power is between your ears. The power is in your heart.”
• “I had a choice to be lazy or lean — if I hadn’t changed, things probably would catch up with me.”

Leadership Quotes From Jim Brown

• “I would never try to motivate anyone to follow me. I would motivate him to follow certain principles.”
• “When you think of the sacrifices our firefighters make, think about the service of soldiers in foreign lands and listen to their lives, you have to be careful that whatever you do, don’t cast a shadow on what these great people do.”
• “I’m not interested in trying to work on people’s perceptions. I am who I am, and if you don’t take the time to learn about that, then your perception is going to be your problem.”
• “There is no excuse for violence. There is never a justification for anyone to impose themselves on someone else. And it will always be incorrect when it comes to a man and a woman, regardless of what might have happened. You need to be man enough to take the blow. That is always the best way. Do not put your hands on a woman.”
• “I learned a long time ago that advice is a quick trip to nowhere. It’s the commitment that only you can make in yourself, the responsibility to assume control of yourself.”

Funny Quotes From Brown

• “Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts.”
• “A liberal will cut off your leg so he can hand you a crutch.”
• “Tank’s a fantastic human being, as far as fighting is concerned.”

Team Attitude Quotes From Jim Brown

• “Teammates are there for each other even after the noise of the crowd is gone.”
• “There was no publicity. You had to like it. There was no pressure, just great competition. The attitude of the coaches and players was exceptional.”
• “Showing weakness will encourage your opponents. It inspires them. It encourages them to hit harder. To come faster. But when you don’t show any fear, or when you don’t show any hurt, you have the opportunity to discourage your opponent. You discourage your enemies. The bottom line is, if you think properly, you don’t even have to think about all of that. All you have to think about is that guy across from me is human, and so am I. And he’ll never out-work me. He’ll never out-think me. And if you can’t out-work me, and you can’t out-think me, you’ll never beat me.”
• “When you need a friend, you can always count on your teammates.”

Success Quotes From Brown

• “I don’t teach kids to be No. 1. Organizations and people that tell you you have to be No. 1; that’s not it. You don’t have to be No. 1. What I teach is to be as good as you can be. Use what you have and be as good as you can be. That’s all you can do, anyway.”
• “Success is not only for the elite. Success is there for those who want it, plan for it, and take action to achieve it.”
• “I set my standards so high, no one could be harsher on me than I was.”
• “Even though the money is great and the fame is great, you still have a lot of disenfranchised young men that are participating in the NFL that are not very happy. A lot of them are very bitter. A lot of them are very angry. So many of them have had no fathers and no home life, and basically, no education.”
• “When I think of greatness, I think of guys like Earl Campbell and Gale Sayers and Walter Payton, and these individuals who, it’s unanimous they’re going to make a difference — when they’re coming out of college, there’s no doubt.”