"The Franchise"

July 4, 1942 - New Haven, Connecticut - Syracuse halfback  Floyd Little was born. This legendary back has a great story as told by the National Football Foundation.

College Career

At Syracuse, he is connected with other great Orange legendary runners, Ernie Davis and Jim Brown, as they all wore the special jersey number 44 at the school. It was retired in honor of all three after Little played his last game. Floyd was a three-time All-American halfback who excelled as a return specialist.

Little led the nation with 1990 all-purpose yards along with a 23.5-yard punt return average as a junior in 1965. Floyd still holds the Syracuse career record with six punt returns for touchdowns. The 1966 ECAC Player of the Year, Little finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting twice. He averaged 5.4 yards as a rusher, 20 yards on punt returns, and 29 yards on kickoff returns. Floyd’s most extended punt returns included 90 yards against UCLA and 71 yards against Penn State in 1964; 95 yards against Pittsburgh and 91 against Penn State in 1965. His best rushing games included 216 yards in the 1967 Gator Bowl against Tennessee, 196 against West Virginia in 1965, and 193 against Florida State in 1966. He scored five touchdowns against Kansas in 1964. One of the most amazing facts is that Floyd shared the same Orange backfield as legendary runner Larry Csonka.    

Floyd Little’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1983. The Pro Football Hall of Fame states that the Denver Broncos selected Little in the 1967 NFL Draft as the sixth overall player chosen. The Broncos initially used him mainly as a return specialist.

Rise to the Pros

As a rookie, he led the American Football League in punt returns with a 16.9 average on 16 returns. That first season, Floyd scored his only TD in the AFL courtesy of his 72-yard return against the New York Jets. Little also returned a career-high 35 kickoffs for 942 yards. Over the next couple of years, he worked hard to enhance his pro rushing skills, and by his third season, Denver gave him more carries. Little rose to the challenge, too, as he averaged a league-high and career-best 5.0 yards per carry.

In 1971, he became the first 1,000-yard rusher in Denver Broncos history. FloydFloyd then went on to win the NFL rushing title that year, finishing with 1,133 yards on 284 carries and scoring six touchdowns. Floyd Little was also enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the 2010 class.