Floyd Little Elected to NFL Hall of Fame

http://www.suathletics.com/news/2010/2/6/FB_0206100450.aspx

Little becomes another #44 in the Hall. Great to see him join the rest of the club.

SUathletics.com article follows:

Former Syracuse standout and National Football League great Floyd Little ‘67 is the seventh Orange representative to earn induction into the Professional Football Hall of Fame. Little will be enshrined as part of the Class of 2010 on Saturday, August 7 at Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium.

The six individuals with Syracuse ties who are enshrined include Jim Brown, Jim Ringo, Larry Csonka, John Mackey, Art Monk and Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. Syracuse is one of just nine schools to have at least six alums in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Little and former NFL cornerback Dick LeBeau were named by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee as finalists for election into the Hall of Fame with the Class of 2010.

Little joins John Elway and Gary Zimmerman as the third member of the Denver Broncos elected to the Hall of Fame.

The sixth player selected overall in the 1967 draft, Little made an immediate impact on the football field. A multi-dimensional player Little combined his rushing talents with great hands and also served as a return man for the Denver Broncos

A five-time Pro Bowl pick, Little amassed more than 12,000 all-purpose yards during his career that spanned from 1967 to 1975. The first-round draft-selection gained 6,323 yards on 1,641 career carries and scored 43 touchdowns. He added 215 receptions for 2,418 yards and nine touchdowns. Little, who lead the AFL in punt returns as a rookie, totaled 893 yards on 81 career punt returns and returned 104 kickoffs for 2,523 yards in his nine-season career. Little was named All-AFL/NFL twice and All-AFC first- or second-team four straight years

In 1971, he became the first player in Broncos history to rush for 1,000 yards when he won the NFL’s rushing crown with 1,133 yards on the ground that season.

A three-time All-American and 1966 ECAC Player of the Year at Syracuse, Little was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and is one of 17 Syracuse representatives to be inducted. Little holds the Syracuse record for career touchdowns (46) and career punts returned for touchdowns (6). He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting both this junior and senior years.

Playing from 1964 to 1966, Little amassed 2,704 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground. During his junior season, he became the first Syracuse back to run for more than 1,000 yards, gaining 1,065 on 193 carries for a 5.5 average. That same season he returned a career-high three punts for scores, including a school-record 95-yarder, and became the second Syracuse student-athlete to gain more than 2,000 all-purpose yards.