Interview with Broncos' Alumnus:

Floyd Little

#44, Denver Broncos '67-'75

Interview by Dan Doughty, Seattle

Floyd Little is one of the four original Hall of Fame inductees from 1984. He was the first #1 draft pick ever signed by the Broncos and was widely regarded as "the Franchise: for much of his nine year career. Little was the first serious threat for the Broncos at running back.

A Pro Bowl participant in 1971, Floyd played twice in the AFL all-star game, ('68 & '69), and is still the Broncos all-time leader in rushing yards (6,323), and rushing attempts (1,641). Little is also the Broncos all-time leading touchdown scorer with 54 and he leads all rushers with 43. He still ranks sixth on the Broncos all-time scoring list with 324 points.

Little totaled 12,103 all purpose yards during his career, including a tam record 2,523 on kickoff returns. Little also holds the Broncos record for the longest non-scoring kickoff return of 89 yards. (vs Oakland, 11/10/68) When Little retired, he was among the top ten all-time rushers in NFL history.

Little was a three time All-American at Syracuse following in the footsteps of Jim Brown and the late Ernie Davis as superstar tailbacks for the Orangemen. He actually shattered most of the records set by his predecessors, rushing for 2,704 yards, returning punts for 845, kickoffs for 797, for a grand total of 4,947 yards. He also scored in 22 of 30 regular season games, including five times in one game. (Courtesy of the Denver Broncos)

PP... What have you been doing, Floyd, since your retirement from football?

Floyd... "I have been doing quite a few things. I'm preparing to give some talks to groups around the country, young people. I have been a Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealer since I retired. I've worked for NBC sports. That's what brought me to Seattle. I used to do all the Seattle Seahawk football games. I've worked for Coors, training to be a distributor for many years. I've worked for the Ford Motor Company as a teacher, trainer, and instructor for the minority dealers' program. So, I've been quite busy since I've gotten out of football. I stay very, very active."

PP...Were you ever tempted to play football again? Was it hard for you to sit and just watch the game?

Floyd... "I do play in the Margarita Bowl every year, which is aired the day before the Superbowl.For the last six years, I've played in that game and recently I was inducted into the Margarita Bowl Hall of Fame along with Billy "White Shoes" Johnson and Jim Kick, who have played in every one of the Margarita Bowls. I had a chance to play with some of the great legends of the game. Roger Craig was one of the running backs along with Joe Morris, Tony Dorsett, Jim Kick, and myself. We had\tab Mark Mavarro, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, along with Doug Flutie as our quarterback this year. Conrad Doebler, Jim Burke, and Ken Bokamper as our linemen. So, we had a great game against some younger flag football players that are world renowned. That's all they do and we beat them this year 27-26! It was a great game; we played both ways in the sand and it was quite enjoyable."

PP... It's been 22 years since you donned the uniform and played your last game. You still hold the Broncos records for rushing yards, rushing attempts, touchdowns, and kickoff returns. Now there's this new kid. What do you think about Terrell Davis and how safe are your records?

Floyd... "I think Terrell is an excellent player as indicated by his performance in the Super Bowl. This guy has really come on in his two years with the Broncos and he has been a stand-out player. I played nine years there, but of course I didn't have the kind of support he has, as in a John Elway and the offensive line that he has. But that doesn't take away from his talent. He's a great talent. I also returned all the punts and kickoffs, which is something he doesn't do. But he carries the football 30-35 times a game and I carried it 18. So we differ as they keep the ball a lot longer; they get a heck of a lot more first downs. But I did have a chance to do other things ... special teams, punt returns, kickoff returns, punt protection, extra points, and field goals, which is more specialized today, so they can save an athlete a lot more so that he can run a lot more times and not be tired. But that's what records are for, to be broken. He's done a great job of breaking all of those but there is one thing Im sure of: He will never break my kickoff and punt return records because he doesn't do them."

PP...How would you compare the way football is now as opposed to the way football was when you played? Do you think they have it easier now? Was this the way you envisioned the football of the future?

Floyd..."It's a lot different now. There are more specialists, you know, situation players. Some only play once a series, twice a series, depending on down, distance, and field position. I think things were a lot different when we played. We played all the time. We didn't have substitutes unless we were hurt. Plus we were all on special teams as well. They've refined the game so more people can play now and they can play a lot longer because of less wear and tear on the body. Also the free agency makes it so that there is not a lot of loyalty to a team. One could play in his career for maybe seven or eight teams where it was very rare for you to play for more than one or two teams when I played."

PP... You played at a time when there was no free agency. As the frequency of free agency signings go today, some people believe that this has caused a lack of loyalty from the fans too. What are your views on free agency?

Floyd... "I think it's helped the players, of course. When you have an unrestricted free agent, he can go anywhere he wants. I think it's brought about parity to the NFL, when you have as many teams in contention for playoff positions toward the end of the season. I think this is great for football. I think that when you have other talented players to go shore up some teams not as talented, it's great for that. I think for the fans though, they don't get a chance to get to know the players like they did years ago, because they aren't there long enough. There is no loyalty to the community or the city and I think that was one of the things that was prevalent when we played. We stayed in the known city where we played and we did a lot in our community. We were known by the community as being community oriented. Today, with salaries and the dollars they make, most players don't live in the cities that they play for.

PP... Did you ever play any other sports besides football? And, what do you do to keep in shape these days?

Floyd... "I held world records in track in high school. I was a basketball player in military school and high school. I'm a "tree" letter man. I got letters in spring track, winter track, and football in college. I played a lot of basketball in college but I wasn't the dominating player in basketball as I was in football.

PP... You've had a long and successful career. What was your greatest moment?

Floyd... "I think I had a lot of great moments in sports. Being drafted in the first round and signed with the Denver Broncos to be their first and only first round draft choice to ever sign in the history of the franchise was a great moment for me. To play in my last game and to go out the way I came in, I went out on a high note, had a great game VS Philadelphia and to have the likes of a Bill Bergy come over and congratulate me on a great career....having people you play against recognize you and to come and embrace you, as one of their own, to wish you the best when you decide to step down...these are the kinds of things that are memorable to me."

PP... Are you a family man? Wife, kids? Are any of them into sports?

Floyd... "I'm divorced. I have a son who'd a lawyer in Los Angeles, a daughter who's touring with the "Dream Girls", a son going to Broadway, and another daughter who lives in Washington DC working on her doctorate degree in health and fitness. None of my children are into sports.

PP... How long have you lived in Seattle? Where are you originally from?

Floyd... "I came to Seattle in 1980. I used to do the football games for the Seahawks. I really enjoy the Pacific Northwest and I said if there was ever an opportunity to get a chance to move up there, I'd like to do that. Slowly but surely, the Ford dealer here in Federal Way decided he wanted to get out so I was able to come in here and take over this store and build the business here and it's done very well. I'm originally from New Haven, Connecticut. I was born in Waterburn, Connecticut. I grew up in New Haven, right down the street from Yale University and went to school in both New Haven and New Jersey. I went to military school for a couple of years. I was recruited by none other than general Douglas MacArthur as well as others. Paul Diesle, when he was coach of Army and also the Notre Dame people. I had 47 scholarships to go to college when I finished military school. I decided to go to Syracuse because of an influence of Ernie Davis, who was the first Afro-American to win the Heismann trophy. He came to visit and persuaded me that Syracuse would be my best bet."

PP... So what's next for Floyd Little? With all of your accomplishments so far, what do you have planned for the future?

Floyd...."Sometime before I pass on, I'd like to get involved with the ownership of an NFL franchise. With the cost of a franchise today, itseems so distant anymore. When the AFC started, a franchise was a million, two million. Now they are upwards of 200 million. Paul Allen paid 238 million for the Seahawks. But with the new television contracts for 17.6 billion dollars, it adds a lot to a franchise. The longer you wait to get involved in the management and ownership of a franchise, the cost is just prohibitive.

Floyd Little is a big man with a bigger heart. He is concerned about the youth of America. He runs a tight ship and an even tighterschedule. "These next two months will be a difficult schedule for me," he says. "But when you have some kids that need help, you just find a way to get it done. I'm preparing a talk for 'America's Promise'. Retired General Colin Powell is involved in it, as well as ex-President Jimmy Carter. It's really about mentoring and coaching, teaching and helping. If we can stop sensationalizing certain things in our society and tell abut the positive things that there are in life. I think it's important that we start looking at young people that are less fortunate than we are and start being mentors. They are the future. We need to change the course of what's happening in our society. We need to work on it today so we can have a better tomorrow. I really believe this and that's what my comments have been the last few talks that I've done. Every city has its uniqueness but the problems are common. Gang violence, teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, drug abuse, these things affect our young people. I think about it, we can visit other planets in our galaxy and we can repair a satellite billions of miles away through modern technology, with a few flicks of the keyboard. Wouldn't it be nice if the problem of today's youth could be fixed with just such a magic wand? But it won't It will take time and determination and perseverance. Be a mentor. Take the time to save the future. We're all they've got."

Dan Doughty, Seattle