Throwback Thursday: Denver Broncos Hall of Famer Floyd Little

Floyd Little, Hall of Famer.

For Little, it was a long wait for the Professional Football Hall of Fame to come calling, but the important thing is, they did. And now his bronze bust sits among John Elway, Gary Zimmerman, Shannon Sharpe as well as the rest of the game’s greats from every team.

His story begins way back in college at Syracuse, following in the footsteps of the great Earnie Davis. Originally, Little chose West Point and Army for college ball, but Davis recruited the fellow running back and Little chose ‘Cuse following the 24-year old Davis’ tragic death due to leukemia.

Little went on to be a three-time All-American for the Orangemen before being selected No. 6 overall by the Denver Broncos in 1967.

Ironic he continued to be able to wear orange.

While he was a remarkable running back, Little was no one-trick pony for the Broncos. He led the AFL in punt return average with 16.9 yards per return, and was the league leader in total yards both in 1967 and 1968. He also led the NFL in yards per carry in 1970 with a 5.0 average while being the best AFC running back that year. Little was the Broncos first ever 1,000-yard rusher – what a list to be the first on – and was the NFL rushing leader in 1971 with 1,133 yards. Over the course of his career, he totaled over 12,000 all-purpose yards, which was also aided by catching the ball out of the backfield.

He was a bowlegged beast of a running back, who could bounce off tackles or run through opponents. Of course, his deadliest weapon was his speed, blazing past defenders with ease. Little was a star in the early days of Denver’s professional football team and his highlight tape put together by NFL Films is a must see.

When he retired in 1975, Floyd Little was the NFL’s seventh all-time leading rusher with 6,323 yards with 54 total touchdowns scored. In 1984, he was one of the charter members of the Ring of Fame, created that year by owner Pat Bowlen.

Fast forward to 2010 and he was finally given his due and inducted into the Hall of Fame as an old-timer candidate. Floyd Little joined back with Syracuse in 2011 to be a special assistant to the Athletic Director. And earlier this year, the university honored him – along with Jim Brown and Earnie Davis – with “Plaza 44”.

Here’s Little’s Hall of Fame induction speech: