Larry Brown (running back)

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For other people of the same name, see Larry Brown (disambiguation).
Larry Brown
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
Player stats at NFL.com

Lawrence Brown Jr. (born September 19, 1947) is an American former professional

Washington Redskins
from 1969 to 1976.

Raised in nearby Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Schenley High School, his original interest being in baseball. He later developed an overriding interest in football and played college football in Kansas at Dodge City Community College and Kansas State University in Manhattan.

Professional career

Brown's eight-year professional career was spent exclusively with the

Washington Redskins. The team had selected him as an afterthought, in the eighth round of the 1969 NFL/AFL draft in January. Though Washington was primarily a passing team, starring All-Pro quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, and in 1967, they had the NFL's first (Charley Taylor), second (tight end Jerry Smith) and fourth ranked receivers in passes caught, they needed a productive rusher. Brown was an unlikely candidate, having served as a blocking back for Cornelius Davis at Kansas State,[1] where the sophomore quarterback, Lynn Dickey, broke all school passing records. 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.

In

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, 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.[3]

Brown had an impressive rookie season during which Brown was largely the reason Washington posted a record of 7–5–2, their first winning record since 1955. He had rushed for 888 yards, a team record. Lombardi died of cancer during the preseason of Brown's second year. Brown went to four consecutive Pro Bowls during his first four seasons and led the Redskins to their Super Bowl VII appearance against the "perfect season" Miami Dolphins in January 1973. Brown was the National Football League's Most Valuable Player in 1972.[1][4] He was noted for his courageous running style despite his relatively small size, courage he attributed to having been raised on the tough streets of Pittsburgh's Hill District, and playing tackle football in those streets. 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 three times, yards from scrimmage three times and total touchdowns twice. Brown was the first Redskins running back to gain more than 1,000 yards in a single season. 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 Greatest Redskins of All Time. He was selected as the DC Touchdown Club NFL Player of the Year in 1972.[5]

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. He rushed for 100 yards or more 21 times and rushed for 100 yards or more in six games in 1970 and six games in 1972. He also scored four rushing touchdowns in one game against the Eagles on December 16, 1973. On October 29, 1972, he ran for 190 yards in a game against the New York Giants.[6] Brown wrote an autobiography entitled "I'll Always Get Up".

Vince Lombardi figured out that Brown might have a hearing problem, one day when he was watching game film in slow motion. He noticed that Brown was reacting late to the snap, and had Brown take a hearing examination. It turned out Brown was deaf in one ear, and Lombardi got permission from the NFL Commissioner to install a hearing aid in Brown's helmet.[7]

Brown's career was cut short due to numerous injuries, and his jersey number, 43, while not officially retired, has not been issued to any other Washington player since his retirement.

The Professional Football Researchers Association named Brown to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2014.[8]

NFL career statistics

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

Brown is currently a Vice President of NAI Michael Commercial Real Estate Services.

E.F. Hutton
as a Personal Financial Management Advisor. [10]

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.[9]

Charitable activities

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

Washington Redskins Charity Golf Classic.[11]

He makes regular appearances at Redskins alumni events.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Larry Brown doesn't like comparisons with others". Observer-Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. January 5, 1973. p. B4.
  2. ^ Stellino, Vito (January 3, 1973). "Lombardi shaped Larry Brown's career". Beaver County Times. Pennsylvania. UPI. p. D3.
  3. ^ "Redskins' Larry Brown runs scared". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau. Associated Press. October 25, 1972. p. 13.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "DC Touchdown Club". DC Touchdown Club. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  6. ^ [1] Archived September 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Solway, Mark. "Q & A With Larry Brown".
  8. ^ "Professional Researchers Association Hall of Very Good Class of 2014". Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Lanham, MD - Commercial Real Estate Services > Home". Naimichael.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  10. ^ "Full Service Sports Marketing Agency". Schultesports.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  11. ^ [2] Archived July 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Matt Terl. "The Redskins Blog | Bruce Allen's Speech From The Return To Glory Event". Blog.redskins.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.

External links

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