Meet the 5 Greatest NFL Players Born on the 4th of July

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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – FEBRUARY 06: Floyd Little speaks on stage after he was announced as one of the newest enshrinees into the Hall of Fame during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 Press Conference held at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center as part of media week for Super Bowl XLIV on February 6, 2010 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

#1: Floyd Little

The Denver Broncos weren’t always the “it” team in the state of Colorado. Once upon a time they were an expansion franchise that needed to work hard in order to garner fan interest in the growing sport of football. In such situations it often takes a superstar to pull that off. Luckily the team found one. Born on July 4th, 1942, Floyd Little certainly lived up to his name. Coming into the NFL he was only 5’10”. Fairly small even for the era of the 1960s.

That didn’t stop him though. It seems like he was born to wear orange, having starred at Syracuse prior to the Broncos drafting him 6th overall in 1967. From there it was all uphill. Behind Little’s outstanding running, the Broncos steadily improved over the course of the decade. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in 1971 and on his back the team gained its first winning season in 1973. For his exploits which included five Pro Bowls, 8700 total yards and 52 touchdowns he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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