Jump to content

Larry Brown (running back)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people of the same name, see Larry Brown (disambiguation).

Larry Brown
refer to caption
Brown in 1973
No. 43
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1947-09-19) September 19, 1947 (age 77)
Clairton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Pittsburgh (PA) Schenley
College:Kansas State
NFL draft:1969 / round: 8 / pick: 191
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:5,875
Yards per carry:3.8
Rushing touchdowns:35
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Lawrence Brown Jr. (born September 19, 1947) is an American former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) who played running back for the Washington Redskins from 1969 to 1976.

Early life

[edit]

Brown was born on September 19, 1947, in Clairton, Pennsylvania, to Rosa Lee and Lawrence Brown Sr.[1][2] He was raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Schenley High School, his original interest being in baseball. He developed an overriding interest in football during his junior year in high school.[2][3]

College football

[edit]

Brown played college football in Kansas at Dodge City Community College (1965-66) and then Kansas State University in Manhattan (1967-68).[3][4]

He was a blocking back at Dodge City.[2] During his sophomore year at Dodge City, he earned All-KJCCC (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference) first team honors, along with National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) honorable mention All-American honors.[4] In 1972, Brown was selected a Dodge City Community College's Distinguished Alumnus, and in 1986 was inducted into its hall of fame.[4] Brown was in the inaugural 2021 class of the NJCAA Foundation Hall of Fame.[3][4]

In 1967, he was recruited to Kansas State as a blocking back, and in his first year he only had 50 rushing attempts. Brown averaged 5.6 yards per carry, and over 600 total rushing and receiving yards in 1967. In 1968, he became the team's running back and led Kansas State with 402 rushing yards on 111 attempts, to go along with 13 receptions.[5][3]

Professional career

[edit]

Brown's eight-year professional career was spent exclusively with the Washington Redskins.[1]

Brown was recruited to Washington by future Pro Football Hall of Fame coaching legend Vince Lombardi,[6][7] who coached Washington in the 1969 season (his only season there before dying of cancer in September 1970).[8][9] Brown was selected in the eighth round of the 17 round 1969 NFL/AFL draft in January 1969, 191st of 442 players chosen that year, and the 7th of 14 players Washington picked in the draft that year.[10] (The team had selected him as an afterthought.[citation needed])

Washington was primarily a passing team, starring All-Pro quarterback and future hall of famer Sonny Jurgensen.[11][12] In 1967 they had the NFL's first ( future hall of famer Charley Taylor[13]), second (tight end Jerry Smith) and fourth (future hall of famer Bobby Mitchell[14]) ranked receivers in passes caught, but they needed a productive rusher. Washington was first in the league in passing yards (3,730) that year, but second-to-last in rushing yards (1,247).[15] In 1968, Jurgensen suffered broken ribs and had elbow surgery, played in only 12 games, and fell from a league-leading 3,747 passing yards in 1967, to 1,980 yards in 1968 (though Washington still had the fifth most passing yards that year).[11][16][17] The team fell to last in the league in rushing with 1,164 yards (3.2 yards per carry).[17]

Brown was an unlikely candidate, having served as a blocking back for Cornelius Davis at Kansas State in 1967,[18][19] though Brown had more carries and yards that Davis in 1968;[5][18] and where the sophomore quarterback, Lynn Dickey led the Big-Eight Conference in passing in 1968, and would go on to break all school passing records.[20][21] Brown had not been widely recruited in high school. His strongest feeler came from Howard University in Washington, D.C., but upon visiting its campus, he noted the lopsided football scores against the university's teams posted on past schedules in the school's athletic building.[citation needed]

In 1969, newly-arrived Redskins head coach Vince Lombardi noticed Brown, a talented but underperforming running back. He made the 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 195-pound (88 kg) rookie his starter, but noticed Brown was starting slightly late behind the snap of the ball. Tests ordered by Lombardi determined that Brown was hearing-impaired in one ear,[22] and that he was watching for the lineman to move rather than listening to the quarterback's snap count. After getting approval from the league Commissioner's office, Lombardi had Brown's helmet fitted with an ear-piece that relayed quarterback Sonny Jurgensen's snap counts,[23] improving Brown's responsiveness, thus allowing him to hit the hole very quickly. Brown's other rookie obstacle was his training camp propensity to fumble. Lombardi ordered Brown to carry a football everywhere he went at the team's training camp in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.[24]

Brown had an impressive rookie season during which he was largely the reason Washington posted a record of 7–5–2, their first winning record since 1955.[25] He had rushed for 888 yards, a team record.[2] He was second in the Associated Press (AP) voting for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (behind Calvin Hill), and third in the United Press International (UPI) voting (behind Hill and Joe Greene).[26] Brown was also selected to the Pro Bowl as a rookie.[27]

Lombardi died of cancer during the preseason of Brown's second year, 1970. Lombardi was his greatest inspiration.[28] Brown gained a league-leading 1,125 yards running that year (4.7 yards per carry) and caught 37 passes for 341 yards and scored seven touchdowns.[1][3] It was the first 1,000 yard rushing season in team history.[6] He was selected first team All-Pro by the AP, UPI, the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), Pro Football Writers (FW), and Pro Football Weekly (PFW).[29]

Brown went to four consecutive Pro Bowls during his first four seasons[1] and led the Redskins to their Super Bowl VII appearance against the "perfect season" Miami Dolphins in January 1973.[30] Brown was the National Football League's Most Valuable Player in 1972.[19][31] He led the NFL in rushing (1,216 yards) despite missing two games with injuries.[6] In 1972, he was also selected first team All-Pro by the AP, the NEA, FW and PFW.[32] By contrast with the pre-Brown years, Washington had a balanced offense with 2,193 passing yards and 2,082 rushing yards.[33]

He was noted for his tough running style despite his relatively small size, which he attributed to having been raised on the tough streets of Pittsburgh's Hill District, and playing tackle football in those streets.[6] He was also noted for his abilities to break tackles, and gain yardage after contact, which announcers called "second effort".

He finished in the top five of the league for rushes five times, rushing yards four times, yards from scrimmage three times and total touchdowns twice.[1] Brown was the first Redskins running back to gain more than 1,000 yards in a single season.[6] He achieved that feat twice in a career that ran from 1969 to 1976. In an eight-year career, Brown was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972. He has been voted one of the 70 and 80 Greatest Redskins of All Time.[34][28] He was selected as the DC Touchdown Club NFL Player of the Year in 1972.[35] He is a member of the Washington Commanders Ring of Fame.[36]

Brown carried the ball 1,530 times in his career gaining 5,875 yards. His best seasons were in 1972 when he gained 1,216 yards and in 1970 when he gained 1,125 yards.[1] He rushed for 100 yards or more 21 times[37] and rushed for 100 yards or more in six games in 1970 and six games in 1972.[6] He also scored four rushing touchdowns in one game against the Eagles on December 16, 1973.[38] On October 29, 1972, he ran for 191 yards in a game against the New York Giants.[39][6][40]

Brown was also a capable receiver, with 238 receptions for 2,485 yards over his eight years. He had 20 receiving touchdowns, to go along with his 35 rushing touchdowns. While his longest run was 75 yards, his longest pass reception was for 89 yards. He had a total of 8,360 yards from scrimmage during his regular season career, averaging 4.7 yards per touch, and 1,045 yards per year (at a time when there were only 14 games in a season).[1]

In 1973, Brown co-authored an autobiography entitled "I'll Always Get Up".[41]

Brown's career was cut short due to numerous injuries,[42] and his jersey number, 43, while not officially retired, has not been issued to any other Washington player since his retirement, except to Nate Orchard for two games in 2021.[43][44]

The Professional Football Researchers Association named Brown to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2014.[45]

NFL career statistics

[edit]
Legend
NFL MVP
Led the league
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Y/G Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum FR
1969 WAS 14 13 202 888 4.4 63.4 57 4 34 302 8.9 31 0 6 2
1970 WAS 13 13 237 1,125 4.7 86.5 75 5 37 341 9.2 66 2 6 1
1971 WAS 13 13 253 948 3.7 72.9 34 4 16 176 11.0 36 2 6 0
1972 WAS 12 12 285 1,216 4.3 101.3 38 8 32 473 14.8 89 4 9 3
1973 WAS 14 14 273 860 3.2 61.4 27 8 40 482 12.1 64 6 7 2
1974 WAS 11 11 163 430 2.6 39.1 16 3 37 388 10.5 34 4 2 0
1975 WAS 14 8 97 352 3.6 25.1 43 3 25 225 9.0 39 2 2 0
1976 WAS 11 0 20 56 2.8 5.1 11 0 17 98 5.8 15 0 2 0
Career 102 84 1,530 5,875 3.8 57.6 75 35 238 2,485 10.4 89 20 40 8

Post-football career

[edit]

Brown is currently a Vice President of NAI Michael Commercial Real Estate Services.[46] After retiring from football in 1976, he was employed at E.F. Hutton as a Personal Financial Management Advisor. [47]

For 12 years, Brown was employed by Xerox Corporation with responsibilities for business and community relations.

He has served on the Board of Directors of Mellon Bank (MD); the Board of Visitors of George Mason University; ; the Board of Directors of the Greater Washington, D.C. Sports Authority; and a Delegate to Japan with the American Council of Young Political Leaders.[46]

Charitable activities

[edit]

Brown has been active over many years in charitable activities for the Redskins and other non-profit organizations in the Washington, D.C. area, including the Prince George's County Special Olympics, the National Council on Disability, Friends of the National Zoo Advisory Committee, the Coalition for the Homeless, the Capital Children's Museum, and the Washington Redskins Charity Golf Classic.[48]

He makes regular appearances at Redskins alumni events.[49]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Larry Brown Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Lawrence "Larry" Brown, Jr.'s Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Larry Brown". NJCAA. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Hall of Fame - Larry Brown". Dodge City Community College Athletics. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Larry Brown College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Latterman, Marc A. (1998). "Larry Brown: Paying the Price" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 20 (5).
  7. ^ "Vince Lombardi | Pro Football Hall of Fame | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  8. ^ "Vince Lombardi Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  9. ^ "Vince Lombardi's personal fight against cancer was futile". www.packers.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  10. ^ "1969 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Sonny Jurgensen Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  12. ^ "Sonny Jurgensen | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  13. ^ "Charley Taylor | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  14. ^ "Bobby Mitchell | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  15. ^ "1967 NFL Standings & Team Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  16. ^ Maloney, Ray (February 1, 2022). "QB Sonny Jurgensen Etches Name in NFL History". The College Sports Journal. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  17. ^ a b "1968 NFL Standings & Team Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Cornelius Davis College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Larry Brown doesn't like comparisons with others". Observer-Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. January 5, 1973. p. B4.
  20. ^ "Lynn Dickey College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  21. ^ Mathieu, Joe (April 25, 2021). "From The Couch - Kansas State Ring Of Honor Member Lynn Dickey". Joe On K-State Sports. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  22. ^ Stellino, Vito (January 3, 1973). "Lombardi shaped Larry Brown's career". Beaver County Times. Pennsylvania. UPI. p. D3.
  23. ^ Solway, Mark. "Q & A With Larry Brown".
  24. ^ "Redskins' Larry Brown runs scared". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau. Associated Press. October 25, 1972. p. 13.
  25. ^ "Washington Commanders Team Records, Leaders, and League Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  26. ^ "1969 Awards Voting". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  27. ^ "1969 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  28. ^ a b "Team | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com". www.commanders.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  29. ^ "1970 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  30. ^ "Super Bowl VII - Miami Dolphins vs. Washington Redskins - January 14th, 1973". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  31. ^ Bernstein, Ralph (December 15, 1972). "Redskins' Larry Brown is presented Bert Bell Award as top gridder of the year". Gettysburg Times. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 15.
  32. ^ "1972 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  33. ^ "1972 Washington Redskins Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  34. ^ "Larry Brown". www.commanders.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  35. ^ "DC Touchdown Club". DC Touchdown Club. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  36. ^ "Team | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com". www.commanders.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  37. ^ "Larry Brown 100-Yard Rushing Games | The Football Database". FootballDB.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  38. ^ "Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins - December 16th, 1973". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  39. ^ [1] Archived September 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  40. ^ "Washington Redskins at New York Giants - October 29th, 1972". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  41. ^ Brown, Larry; Gildea, William (September 28, 1973). I'll Always Get Up. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671216146.
  42. ^ Garrett, Tom (December 5, 2017). "Redskins by the (Jersey) Numbers: #43 - Larry Brown". Hogs Haven. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  43. ^ "2021 Washington Football Team Roster & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  44. ^ "All Players To Wear Number 43 For Washington Commanders". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2025.
  45. ^ "Professional Researchers Association Hall of Very Good Class of 2014". Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  46. ^ a b "Lanham, MD - Commercial Real Estate Services > Home". Naimichael.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  47. ^ "Full Service Sports Marketing Agency". Schultesports.com. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  48. ^ [2] Archived July 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  49. ^ Matt Terl. "The Redskins Blog | Bruce Allen's Speech From The Return To Glory Event". Blog.redskins.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Brown_(running_back)&oldid=1276554016"