Floyd Douglas Little was born on July 4th, 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut. Fast-forward 69 years, seven months, and one day. Little is in attendance at the second annual NFLPA Legends Brunch on a panel with Warren Moon, Rod Woodson, Fred Biletnikoff, and Cornelius Bennett, some of the best to ever set foot on an NFL playing field.
There’s little chance he ever could have predicted he’d be sitting amongst “legends” back in his days in New Haven, but the journey that fell in between has immortalized him in both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fames. But that’s a story for later.
As Little was nearing young adulthood, the decision was made that he would attend Bordentown Military Institute in New Jersey, a now defunct private high school. During his years at Bordentown, the future Hall of Famer began his storied career as a running back. Little garnered enough to be recruited by several universities, eventually choosing Syracuse in 1963.
He went on to be a three-time All-American, the only running back in the school’s history ever to reach that trifecta. In 1967, the NFL and AFL were holding the first joint draft between the two leagues after their merger the prior year. The AFL’s Denver Broncos selected Little with the sixth overall selection, and they never regretted that choice, as it to this day might still be recognized as their best ever draft pick.
“I only played for one team,” he said. “The Broncos drafted me in the ’67 draft, and they never let me leave. I had opportunities, but I was pretty loyal to the Denver audience and the fans. It was really necessary for me to stay and by me staying it save a franchise, and now I’m called ‘The Franchise’. And I like that name.”
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