Known around the world as one of the all-time greats in football history, NFL Hall of Famer and civil rights advocate Jim Brown has died at 87.

Brown reportedly passed away Thursday night at his home in Los Angeles.

In 1965, the NFL named Brown the Most Valuable Player, culminating his career which began in 1957. He left at the height of his career to become an actor, appearing in more than 30 films, most notably “Any Given Sunday” and “The Dirty Dozen.”

Brown was a prominent face in the advancement of civil rights for people of color in the 1960’s. In 1967, he gathered some of the most famous athletes at the time such as Bill Russell at a meeting in Cleveland, Ohio to support Muhammad Ali’s stance against the Vietnam War.

More about the life of Jim Brown can be found here.