NFL Rushing Leader History

In the National Football League the term "rushing leader" is applied to that individual who gains the most yards carrying the football on running plays over the course of the season. In the early days of the league, the rushing leader seldom broke the 1,000 yard barrier, but as time passed 1,000-yard seasons became routine. The 2,000 yard mark has been eclipsed five times and multiple players have been the NFL rushing leader at least three times.

  1. 1932 through 1954

    • NFL rushing statistics were first kept in 1932 and the initial rushing leader was Cliff Battles of the Boston Braves. Battles played four positions for the club and ran for 576 yards that year. Byron "Whizzer" White would lead the NFL twice in rushing before going on to become a Supreme Court justice. The first 1,000-yard rusher for a single season was Beattie Feathers, who gained 1,004 yards in 1934 for the Chicago Bears. It would not be until 1947 that another running back went over 1,000 yards, when four-time rushing leader Steve Van Buren of the Philadelphia Eagles ran for 1,008 yards. From 1932 through 1956, only six times did the rushing leader gain more than 1,000 yards, with the highest total during that span belonging to Van Buren at 1,146 yards.

    Jim Brown

    • In 1957, Jim Brown joined the Cleveland Browns and the NFL rushing records fell like never before. Brown's combination of power and speed established new standards for running backs. He won his first rushing title in 1957 with 942 yards, but in 1958 he shattered the existing record by gaining 1,527 yards. In 1963, Brown rushed for 1,863 yards, establishing a mark that would stand for years. He would grab eight titles in his nine seasons and five times went over the 1,400-yard mark.

    2,000 yards

    • Brown's record was not approached for 10 years. In 1973, O.J. Simpson would break it by running for 2,003 yards for the Buffalo Bills. Simpson was a four-time NFL rushing leader and the first of five men to run for over 2,000 yards as of 2009. In 1984, Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams ran for 2,105 yards. This record withstood the onslaughts of Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions in 1997 and Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos in 1998. In 2003, Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens gained 2,066 yards to come the closest to Dickerson's record.

    Four titles

    • No runner has challenged Brown's record of eight rushing titles. Van Buren, Simpson, and Dickerson each claimed four titles as the top runner in the league. Sanders had four as a member of the Lions before retiring and Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys had four in a five-year span from 1991 through 1995.

    Effects

    • Since 1960, the lowest total of yards for the NFL's rushing leader has been Gale Sayers' 1,032 yards for the 1969 Chicago Bears. As offensive linemen increased in both size and agility, the rushing leader's totals rose. Since 1991, the fewest amount of yards belonging to the league leader has been 1,474 yards, which was registered by LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers in 2007. During this period, the 1,700-yard barrier was broken 11 times.