A weekend rally around the Hall of Fame running back’s old Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

CLEVELAND – James Box never imagined he would defy the man who, over his lifespan, grew from a larger-than-life figure to someone he considered a father.

But on an overcast and misty summer Saturday before about 50 people in a neighborhood on this city’s East Side, Box went against the late, great Jim Brown’s wishes to honor him in death.

“He’d tell me that he didn’t want any fanfare when he died,” Box said. “But I’d say, ‘What about all of the people you’ve helped over the years? People need to know.’ Then he’d say, ‘Do whatever you’re going to do.’ And that’s why today we did.”

Jim Brown, a football and lacrosse hall of famer, actor and social activist, died May 18 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87.

On Saturday in Brown’s honor, Box held a rally to celebrate Brown’s life and legacy in the same Mount Pleasant neighborhood where Brown lived as a member of the Browns from 1957 to 1965, and a few years after his retirement. Saturday’s gathering took place on the corner of Kinsman Rd. and East 147th St. in front of a historical marker dedicated to Brown on the campus of Andrew J. Rickoff Elementary School.

To read the full article by Branson Wright, go here.