Floyd Little was pro football’s answer to Job.
For those unaware (or who didn’t grow up attending Sunday School by force), Job was a devoted worshipper of God. Satan, being who he was, said that any of His believers would crack if under enough strain. God, suddenly being a gambling man, took Beelzebub up on his dare and just savaged Job’s life—destroying his property, killing off his family, giving him boils…until finally Job snapped and asked God what was going on—especially the boils. God then got uppity and told Job, “Don’t question what I do, scuzzball,” then rewarded him with far more than he lost, and even threw in a book of the Bible in his name. (Maybe He didn’t call Job a scuzzball—I’m working without notes.)
But, Floyd was, well, Job in a Broncos helmet. I don’t think John Ralston or Lou Saban called him a scuzzball, though. And I think he avoided boils.
An insanely talented running back, he followed Jim Brown and Ernie Davis at Syracuse, wearing the holy “44” jersey to great acclaim. In fact, it was Davis who convinced him to go to Syracuse. Then he went to Denver, and the persecution began. Just how redundant were the Broncos? While he was pro football’s leading overall ground gainer from 1968-73, the Broncos responded by going 31-49-5 over the same time. In 1971, he became the first NFL back to rush for a thousand yards for a last place team. So, no matter what Floyd did, the swirling vortex of despair that was Denver simply crushed it with the weight of its own ineptitude. That makes his nickname, “The Franchise” almost an insult because of how comically indifferent the team was to improving.
While the team was slowly building up a defense, Little was saddled with quarterbacks such as Steve Tensi, Marlin Briscoe (who never got a legit chance, IMHO), Tensi (again), Pete Liske and Steve Ramsey. And his “boils” were watching inferior backs playing in the postseason for teams who actually tried to win.
Like Job, Floyd was eventually rewarded for his suffering—a well-deserved Canton bust, and being part of the very first inductee to the Bronco Ring of Honor. Boils or no boils.
Here’s a great video to on “The Franchise”
