This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011) Floyd Little At his Denver Broncos Ring of Fame ceremony in 2010. Date of birth 4 July 1942 (1942-07-04) (age 68) Place of birth New Haven, Connecticut Position(s) Halfback College Syracuse Common Draft 1967 / Round 1 Pick 6 Jersey Number 44 Career highlights AFL All-Star 1968, 1969 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl 1970, 1971, 1973 Honors Denver Broncos Ring of Fame Stats Statistics Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball Teams 1967-1969 1970-1975 AFL Denver Broncos NFL Denver Broncos College Football Hall of Fame, 1983 Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2010 Floyd Douglas Little (born July 4, 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut) is a Pro Football Hall of Fame running back,1 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 until 2010, while the first six were in the Hall of Fame. This was typical of players who played or started their careers in the genesis of modern Professional Football, the American Football League (1960-1969), which to this day is still under-represented in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In the summer of 2009, Little was nominated and became a finalist for induction into the Hall of Fame.[1] 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.[2] 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 finished 40th in his class of 140 at the University of Denver law school, where he received his law degree in 1975. Little formerly owned automobile dealerships in Denver, the Seattle area and Santa Barbara, though he is said to now be retired. He graduated from Bordentown Military Institute (BMI), Bordentown, NJ, in 1963. He was portrayed in the 2008 Ernie Davis biopic The Express by Chadwick Boseman. On August 7, 2010, Little was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, and Dick LeBeau. Contents 1 Statistics 2 References 3 See also 4 External links 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 References ^ Legwold, Jeff (24 September 2010). "Floyd Little receiving Hall of Fame ring at Sunday's Broncos game". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_16164917. Retrieved 6 February 2011.  See also Other American Football League players External links Floyd Little Official Website Floyd Little angry over lack of Broncos in Hall of Fame Little's 1968 Topps football card Former Broncos great Floyd Little says he had given up quest for Hall of Fame consideration v · d · eSyracuse Orange football All Time Record 674-471 (.587) Key Personnel Head Coach: Doug Marrone • Offensive Coordinator: Doug Marrone • Defensive Coordinator: Scott Shafer Playing Fields Archbold Stadium • Carrier Dome Rivalries West Virginia • Penn State • Connecticut Head Coaches

Robert Winston • William Galbraith • Jordan C. Wells • George H. Bond • George O. Redington • Frank E. Wade • Edwin Sweetland • Jason B. Parish • Ancil C. Brown • Charles P. Hutchins • Frank "Buck" O'Neill • Howard Jones • T. A. Dwight Jones • C. DeForest Cummings • Bill Hollenback • Chick Meehan  • Pete Reynolds  • Lew Andreas  • Vic Hanson  • Ossie Solem  • Clarence Munn  • Reaves H. Baysinger  • Ben Schwartzwalder  • Frank Maloney  • Dick MacPherson  • Paul Pasqualoni • Greg Robinson • Doug Marrone All-Time leaders Rushing yards Joe Morris • Passing yards Marvin Graves • Receiving yards Marvin Harrison • Sacks Tim Green • Interceptions Markus Paul Retired Numbers #44 Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, and Rob Konrad #88 John Mackey National Championships (1) 1959 Lambert Trophy Champions (1936-) 1952 • 1956 • 1959 • 1966 • 1987 • 1992 Big East Football Champions (1993-) 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 2004 v · d · e 1992 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award winners R. Malcolm Graham •Robert A. Griese • Floyd D. Little •James R. Lynch • Alan C. Page • Ricardo M. Urbina v · d · eByron “Whizzer” White NFL Man of the Year Award 1966: Starr • 1967: Davis • 1968: Meador • 1969: Sayers • 1970: Alexander • 1971: May • 1972: Russell • 1973: Little • 1974: Bleier • 1975: Hart • 1976: Alzado • 1977: Manning • 1978: Staubach • 1979: Upshaw • 1980: Houston • 1981: Harris • 1982: Dieken • 1983: Benirschke • 1984: Williams • 1985: Moore • 1986: Martin • 1987: Cherry • 1988: Singletary • 1989: Newsome • 1990: Kenn • 1991: R. White • 1992: Lowery • 1993: Kelso • 1994: Thomas • 1995: Brooks • 1996: Zorich • 1997: Nickerson • 1998: Carter • 1999: Pelfrey • 2000: McCrary • 2001: Brunell • 2002: Vincent • 2003: Brooks • 2004: Manning • 2005: McNair • 2006: Lynch • 2007: Dunn • 2008: Dawkins • 2009: Asomugha  • 2010: Richardson v · d · eWalter Camp Man of the Year Award 1967 — Hamilton Fish 1968 — Ted Blair 1969 — Pete Rozelle 1970 — Harry Kipke 1971 — Doc Blanchard 1972 — Clinton Frank 1973 — Duffy Daugherty 1974 — Jake Gaither 1975 — Pete Dawkins 1976 — Edward Krause 1977 — Fred Dunlap 1978 — Floyd Little 1979 — Jack Kemp 1980 — Gale Sayers 1981 — Otto Graham 1982 — Merlin Olsen 1983 — Roger Staubach 1984 — Don Shula 1985 — Rocky Bleier 1986 — Willie Davis 1987 — Levi Jackson 1988 — Andy Robustelli 1989 — Paul Brown 1990 — Nick Buoniconti 1991 — Mel Blount 1992 — Bob Griese 1993 — Warren Moon 1994 — Dick Anderson 1995 — Reggie Williams 1996 — Lynn Swann 1997 — Calvin Hill 1998 — Lou Holtz 1999 — Gil Brandt 2000 — Howie Long 2001 — Mike Singletary 2002 — Jim Kelly 2003 — Ozzie Newsome 2004 — Anthony Munoz 2005 — Dwight Stephenson 2006 — Mike Utley 2007 — Dick Butkus 2008 — Morten Andersen 2009 — John Elway 2010 — Will Shields 2011 - Chris McCarthy v · d · eDenver Broncos first-round draft picks LeClerc • Gaiters • Olsen • Alexander • Brown • Shay • Little • Anderson • Montgomery • Odoms • Armstrong • Gradishar • Wright • Glassic • Schindler • Latimer • Clark • Smith • Willhite • Hinton • Sewell • Nattiel • Gregory • Atwater • Croel • Maddox • Da. Williams • Mobley • Pryce • Nash • Wilson • O'Neal • Middlebrooks • Lelie • Foster • D. J. Williams • Cutler • Moss • Clady • Moreno • Ayers • Thomas • Tebow v · d · eDenver Broncos Retired Numbers #7 John Elway • #18 Frank Tripucka • #44 Floyd Little v · d · eDenver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team (2009) Offense: Elway (QB) • Davis (RB) • Little (RB) • McCaffrey (WR) • Smith (WR) • Sharpe (TE) • Lepsis (T) • Zimmerman (T) • Bishop (G) • Schlereth (G) • Nalen (C) Defense: Fletcher (DE) • Jackson (DE) • Pryce (DT) • Carter (DT) • Mecklenburg (OLB) • Gradishar (ILB) • Jackson (OLB) • Bailey (CB) • Wright (CB) • Atwater (S) • Smith (S) Special Teams: Upchurch (Ret.) • Elam (PK) • Rouen (P) v · d · ePro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 Russ Grimm • Rickey Jackson • Dick LeBeau • Floyd Little • John Randle • Jerry Rice • Emmitt Smith Persondata Name Little, Floyd Alternative names Short description Date of birth July 4, 1942 Place of birth New Haven, Connecticut Date of death Place of death