Most "badass" RBs of all time

[Bryan]

MacArthur Lane

[Brian wolf]

John Brockington and Charlie Harraway as well. Another tough guy was Tom Nowatzke ...

[racepug]

Clarke Hinkle has to be in this conversation. Nagurski said Hinkle was "the toughest man I ever played against." They had two memorable collisions and Hinkle was the winner on both occasions.

One came when Hinkle carried off tackle and ran into Nagurski, who was backing up the line. The collision sent Hinkle right back through the hole and into Packer backfield again while Nagurski was knocked down. However, Hinkle's legs kept churning and he went through the hole again and past the fallen Nagurski this time. Bear guard George Musso said it was the only time that a runner went past him three times on the same play.

The other game when Hinkle ran a sweep and was near the sideline when Nagurski closed in on him. Hinkle lowered his shoulder and charged into him. Nagurski had to leave the game but Hinkle didn't. It was the only time Nagurski was ever knocked out of a game.

I'd read that story before. You don't hear about him much these days (at least not outside of Wisconsin) but I think to this day Clarke Hinkle is considered to be one of the very best RBs in Green Bay Packers history.

[racepug]

Cookie Gilchrist has to be in the conversation. Derrick Henry too. Jim Taylor, Larry Csonka, Christian Okoye ...

So, originally I asked of another football lover (via e-mail): "Who do you suppose was the most 'badass' of all time between Jim Brown, John Henry Johnson, Cookie Gilchrist, and Marion Motley?" His response? "If you were to ask Jim Brown I'm sure he'd say it was him!" Before I started doing all my research on football players of the past a few years ago the first I ever heard of John Henry Johnson was in a story by H.o.F.er Art Donovan, Jr. About how Artie gave J.H.J. an extra "nudge" on a play after J.H.J. was knocked out-of-bounds and then "I got out of the way REAL quick" when J.H.J. came after "whoever it was who'd gone 'extracurricular' on him." With Cookie I've read that in a key late season game between his Bills and the Patriots he knocked Chuck Shonta out on the first play of the game and then yelled to the other Patriots: "Which one of you MF'ers is next?!" The Bills went on to win. Also, Cookie claimed that he told Jim Brown face-to-face that if the N.F.L. hadn't forced Paul Brown to give him (Cookie) up "nobody ever would've heard of you." Larry Csonka was pretty "badass," I guess, but I've often wondered how much of it was him and how much of it was his outstanding O-line. What I do know is that Phil Villapiano in the book "The Super '70s," when asked the guy he most hated to have to bring down, ultimately said, "Larry Csonka. He was an absolute monster." Okoye? I loved "The Nigerian Nightmare"! Everything about him - his story (going to little Azusa Pacific), the fact that he was from Nigeria and was a star in the N.F.L., the fact he played for the Kansas City Chiefs - everything. But I've long had the impression that neither he nor his reputation were ever the same after that famous hit on him by Steve Atwater (you know which hit I'm talkin' 'bout). Oh - one more story about Cookie Gilchrist: in a book I recently read about the AFL I read that in a pre-season game between (I believe) the Bills and the Vikings, supposedly Cookie Gilchrist did such a number on (then rookie, I believe) Alan Page that the Vikings moved Page to DT from DE. How 'bout THEM apples?

[Brian wolf]

Though Brown was a better runner than Gilchrist, I rate Cookie over him because he could wipe out people when blocking. Brown was one of the worst blockers I ever saw on films, for his size.

[racepug]

Though Brown was a better runner than Gilchrist, I rate Cookie over him because he could wipe out people when blocking. Brown was one of the worst blockers I ever saw on films, for his size.

Yeah, I've often read that Jim Brown wasn't much for pass catching or for blocking. But I guess given his talent for running the ball he didn't need to be.

[Brian wolf]

I actually thought Brown was an excellent receiver, which is why HC Paul Brown let him flare out for passes on third down. PBrown thought Jim "rested" too much as a blocker or so I read ...

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Bo Jackson

Christian Okoye

Walt Garrison played in the NFC Championship with a broken collarbone....and he was a rodeo star....that's gotta count for something....

And gotta put Rocky Bleier on this list as well....

[Sonny9]

Dan Towler Rams 1950-1955

[JuggernautJ]

How about Larry Brown of the WFT?
The title of his autobiography is "I'll Always Get Up."

Of course, always is a very long time...
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