Willie Brown (American football)
![]() Brown in 2007 | |||||||||||
No. 24 | |||||||||||
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Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Yazoo City, Mississippi, U.S. | December 2, 1940||||||||||
Died: | October 21, 2019 Tracy, California, U.S. | (aged 78)||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Taylor (Yazoo City, Mississippi) | ||||||||||
College: | Grambling (1959–1962) | ||||||||||
AFL draft: | 1963 / round: Undrafted | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||
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As an administrator: | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career AFL/NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Head coaching record | |||||||||||
Career: | College: 2–9 (.182) | ||||||||||
Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||
William Ferdie Brown (December 2, 1940 – October 21, 2019)[1] was an American professional football player, coach and administrator. He played as a cornerback for the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and later in the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, Brown remained with the Raiders as an assistant coach. He served as the head football coach at California State University, Long Beach in 1991, the final season before the school's football program was terminated. Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1984. At the time of his death he was on the Raiders' administrative staff.[2]
Playing career
[edit]Brown played college football at Grambling College—now Grambling State University—and was not drafted by any professional team after leaving school in 1963. He was signed by the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL), but was cut from the team during training camp. He was then signed by the AFL's Denver Broncos and became a starter by the middle of his rookie season. He won All-AFL honors in his second season and played in the AFL All-Star Game.
In 1967, Brown was traded within the Western Division to the Oakland Raiders and spent the remainder of his playing career there. He served as defensive captain for 10 of his 12 years with the team. He was named to five AFL All-Star games and four NFL Pro Bowls. He was also named All-AFL three times and All-NFL four times.[3]
Perhaps Brown's most memorable moment as a Raider came late in Super Bowl XI, when he intercepted a Fran Tarkenton pass with under six minutes remaining and returned it a Super Bowl-record 75 yards for the clinching touchdown.[4][5] NFL Films immortalized Brown's play with a film clip of Brown running with the ball, appearing to be running straight to the camera. He was also given a popular nickname as a result of Bill King's radio call of the play: "He (Tarkenton) looks and throws...intercepted by the Oakland Raiders Willie Brown at the 30, 40, 50...he’s going all the way!...Old Man Willie!...Touchdown Raiders!"[6] His record stood for 29 years, until it was broken by Kelly Herndon's non-scoring 76-yard interception return from the end zone in Super Bowl XL.[7]
Brown retired after the 1978 season, and finished his Raiders career with 39 interceptions, tied for first all-time on the team. He finished his sixteen seasons in professional football with 54 interceptions, which he returned for 472 yards and two touchdowns. He also recovered three fumbles.[8]
Brown was selected to the American Football League All-Time Team[9] and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on July 28, 1984, his first year of eligibility.[3] In 1999, he was ranked number 50 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, making him the highest-ranking Raiders player.[10]
Coaching career
[edit]Brown served as a defensive backfield coach for the Raiders from 1979 to 1988. He was also the last head football coach at Long Beach State before the program was discontinued.[11] Brown had succeeded George Allen, who had died just after the end of the 1990 season. He earned a master's degree at the same school in 1991, and later coached at Jordan High School in Los Angeles in 1994. In 1995, he returned to the Raiders as the Director of Staff Development.[12]
Awards
[edit]- All-AFL Team (1964)
- Five AFL All-Star Games (1964–65, 1967–69)
- Named to the All-Time AFL Team in 1969
- Four AFC-NFC Pro Bowls (1970–73)
- Named to the Pro Football 25-year All-Star team
- Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984
- Inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1985
- Inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1994
AFL/NFL career statistics
[edit]Legend | |
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Won the Super Bowl | |
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Regular season
[edit]Year | Team | Games | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Int | Yds | Y/I | Lng | TD | FR | Yds | Y/F | TD | ||
1963 | DEN | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1964 | DEN | 14 | 14 | 9 | 140 | 15.6 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1965 | DEN | 14 | 11 | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1966 | DEN | 14 | 14 | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1967 | OAK | 14 | 12 | 7 | 33 | 4.7 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1968 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1969 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 5 | 111 | 22.2 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1970 | OAK | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1971 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1972 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1973 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1974 | OAK | 9 | 9 | 1 | 31 | 31.0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1975 | OAK | 12 | 12 | 4 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1976 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1977 | OAK | 14 | 14 | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1978 | OAK | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Career | 204 | 185 | 54 | 472 | 8.8 | 45 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Postseason
[edit]Year | Team | Games | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||
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GP | GS | Int | Yds | Y/I | Lng | TD | FR | Yds | Y/F | TD | ||
1967 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1968 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1969 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1970 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 1 | 50 | 50.0 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1972 | OAK | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1973 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 27.0 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1975 | OAK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1976 | OAK | 3 | 3 | 1 | 75 | 75.0 | 75 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1977 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
Career | 17 | 16 | 7 | 96 | 13.7 | 75 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Records
[edit]- Previously held Super Bowl record for longest interception (75 yards, Super Bowl XI), now held by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison (100 yards, Super Bowl XLIII)
- Oakland Raiders franchise leader for interceptions (39, t-1st)
Death
[edit]Brown died on October 21, 2019, at the age of 78.[1]
Head coaching record
[edit]Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
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Long Beach State 49ers (Big West Conference) (1991) | |||||||||
1991 | Long Beach State | 2–9 | 2–5 | T–5th | |||||
Long Beach State: | 2–9 | 2–5 | |||||||
Total: | 2–9 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Sandomir, Richard (October 22, 2019). "Willie Brown, Hall of Fame Defensive Back With Raiders, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ Judge, Clark. "Raiders, Hall Mourn the passing of Willie Brown". si.com. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ a b "Willie Brown". profootballhof.com. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (January 17, 1977). "The Raiders were all suped up". Sports Illustrated. p. 10.
- ^ "Records set Sunday: Super Bowl XI". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). January 10, 1977. p. 4C.
- ^ McDonald, Jerry. "Raiders cornerback 'Old Man Willie' Brown: His big moment in Super Bowl XI came to him in a dream," Bay Area News Group, Friday, January 29, 2016. Archived August 9, 2021, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 8, 2021
- ^ Hensley, Jamison (February 6, 2006). "Steel Will". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ "Willie Brown Stats". pro-football-reference.com. Sports-Reference, LLC. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "Raiders legendary Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown dies at 78". nbcsports.com. October 22, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "The Sporting News 100 Greatest Players of All-Time". futurefootballlegends.com. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Kirk, Roger. "Willie Brown, Long Beach State's Final Football Coach, Passes Away". longbeachstate.com. LONG BEACH STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "Willie Brown - Hall of Fame". raiders.com. The Las Vegas Raiders. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
External links
[edit]- 1940 births
- 2019 deaths
- African-American coaches of American football
- American Conference Pro Bowl players
- American football cornerbacks
- American Football League All-Star players
- American Football League All-Time Team
- American Football League players
- California State University, Long Beach alumni
- Denver Broncos (AFL) players
- Grambling State Tigers football players
- High school football coaches in California
- Long Beach State 49ers football coaches
- Oakland Raiders coaches
- Oakland Raiders executives
- Oakland Raiders players
- People from Yazoo City, Mississippi
- Players of American football from Mississippi
- Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
- 20th-century African-American sportspeople
- 21st-century African-American sportspeople