Pro Football Hall of Famer Floyd Little, known as “the Franchise” during his career with the Denver Broncos, has been diagnosed with cancer.
A former teammate of Little’s at Syracuse, Pat Killorin, made the diagnosis public as Killorin created a GoFundMe page called “Friends of Floyd” to aid Little and his family with treatment costs. On the page Killorin said “no doubt this will be the toughest fight of his life.”
The 77-year-old Little was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010. A three-time All American at Syracuse Little is also enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Always a vibrant presence at many Broncos’ reunions and functions through the years, Little has also become a fixture at recent enshrinement ceremonies in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well. He has also participated in the Hall of Fame’s Hear from a Hall of Famer program in speaking to students.
“I feel so blessed in everything, and as long as I can I will always come back [to Canton], and I always hope to see many more Broncos here with me as the years go by,” is how Little put it last summer when both Champ Bailey and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen were enshrined. “Football has given me so much and I will always try to give back in every way to young people who need our help.”
Little, who was the sixth pick of the 1967 AFL-NFL draft by the Broncos, played nine seasons in Denver as he rushed for 6,323 yards with 43 touchdowns. Those formative years of the Broncos franchise — they were one of the original AFL teams in 1960 — were often a struggle on the field as Little starred for teams that didn’t make the playoffs.
The Broncos finished with a winning record just twice in Little’s career — in 1973 and 1974. But he was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.
Between 2011 and 2016, Little worked in Syracuse’s athletic department and in the spring of 2016 Little was given an honorary doctorate degree from the school.