Legend Jim Brown was mentor to Dolphins' Ricky Williams, kept home in South Florida

Jim Brown never played against the Dolphins. The Cleveland Browns’ Hall of Famer, whose death was announced Friday, retired at age 29 in 1965.

The Dolphins joined pro football the next year.

But the loss of Brown, considered by many the greatest football player ever, is being felt by former Dolphins, Miami and South Florida, where Brown kept a home.

Here are five ways Brown made an impact locally:

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Ricky Williams considered Jim Brown a mentor ...

Brown was a mentor to Ricky Williams, the Dolphins' running back whose style drew comparisons to Brown’s.

That doesn’t mean Brown was afraid to be critical of Williams at times. Williams rushed for 1,853 yards in 2002 but was on pace for 1,283 the following season. And Brown decided to push Williams’ buttons on his national radio show that November.

"Last year was like being a race car," Brown said. "Ricky could use his quickness and speed. Now he has to be a race car with his first move, then become a tank. Drop your shoulder, drive your legs and rely on body lean. It can be grueling and not very rewarding, but you've got to use your power."

Williams took no offense. In fact, he agreed.

“If he had said it to me a couple of weeks ago, it would have shed some light on the situation,” Williams said. “But I figured it out on my own.”

… but Brown denied talking Williams into retirement

Something else Brown and Williams had in common: Both retired from football early.

Williams left the Dolphins before the 2004 season when he was just 27 — two years younger than Brown when he retired for good.

“Contrary to what some people might think, I had nothing to do with his decision,” Brown said. “I was as surprised as everyone else. But I support him in his decision.”

Likewise, Brown was happy to see Williams change his mind a year later. Brown credited Nick Saban with welcoming Williams back.

"Nick Saban opened the door," Brown said. "He came in here with the right attitude. He allowed Ricky to reconsider. He didn't put any pressure on him.

"Ricky has a great responsibility. He has a second chance. I believe he's going to take full advantage of it.”

Williams ended up playing five additional seasons with the Dolphins, including 2009, when he rushed for 1,121 yards.

Dolphins fullback Rob Konrad proudly wore 44 in Brown’s honor

It’s well known in college football that players wearing No. 44 for Syracuse don’t do so by accident.

It’s considered an honor to wear that number for the Orange, a lineage that includes Brown, Floyd Little and Ernie Davis.

And in 1998, that honor went to a fullback named Rob Konrad, who last wore that jersey against Florida in the Orange Bowl following the 1998 season.

''I had known about what it stood for up here," Konrad said. “I knew about Jim Brown, Floyd Little and Ernie Davis, but I never realized how important it was to a lot of people around the area. I don't think I understood what it was all about until I started playing here.''

Dolphins fans, of course, remember Konrad as Miami’s second-round pick a few months after that Orange Bowl. Konrad spent his entire six-year career with the Dolphins, often blocking for Williams but also catching 111 passes for 854 yards and six touchdowns.

And he did it wearing No. 44.

Standing up for what’s right

Any mention of the legacy Brown leaves behind would be incomplete without a reference to his work as a social activist. Brown founded Amer-I-Can, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles but one he also promoted throughout South Florida, including via speaking engagements in Miami and Boca Raton. During an appearance in Miami’s Little Haiti section, Brown credited Williams, Bill Russell and Bill Belichick with assisting his charity.

Asked in 2006 what he’s most proud of, Brown didn’t point to his NFL career or his acting career in which he was one of the first Black performers to consistently play positive characters.

“I am most proud of what Amer-I-Can has been able to do to help young men steer clear of the gang lifestyle and become real, contributing members of society,” he told The Miami Herald.

The newspaper credited Brown with being one of the first Black athletes to demand the same travel accommodations as white teammates.

“A lot of Black athletes took that stand,” he said. “I just got noticed for it.”

The year after Brown left the game, the Dolphins were born. It’s easy to lose sight that in the mid-1960s, Miami wasn’t always welcoming to Blacks, including arriving professional football players. Perhaps Brown inspired at least one new Dolphin, halfback/kicker Gene Mingo, to stand up for his rights when a Miami motel pretended to be full. Mingo told The Post in 2021 he could see ample room keys hanging behind the registration desk.

“You telling me you want to have a team in Miami and we can't even get a room for my wife or my son?” Mingo recalled saying. “I guarantee you would not have a team in this city when I get through."

Mingo and his family got their room. Miami, of course, kept its team.

Jim Brown stops and smells the flowers?

Proving you can never assume anything, this football player known for his toughness had a side you wouldn’t expect.

Brown had a condo on South Beach where he enjoyed a special hobby.

''Honestly, I love to garden,'' Brown told The Herald. “I’ll leave the sowing to Rosie (Grier). But every chance I get I'm in the garden, working on my lawn or my flowers. I enjoy it so much that when I come to Miami, the first place I go is to the florist to pick out fresh-cut flowers for my condo. I guess you might call me green, an earthy kind of guy because there is nothing like having nature around you like that.''

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at  hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter  @gunnerhal.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jim Brown had South Beach home, was mentor to Dolphins' Ricky Williams