Tom_Brown_(sportsman,_born_1940)

Tom Brown (safety)

Tom Brown (safety)

American football and baseball player (born 1940)

Thomas William Brown (born December 12, 1940) is a two-time Super Bowl winning former professional football player and major league baseball player.[1][2] He's the first athlete to win both a Super Bowl and hit a home run in a major league baseball game and the only one other than Deion Sanders to do so.

Quick Facts Born, No. 40, 21 ...

Brown briefly played for the Washington Senators of the American League early in the 1963 season, and then was a defensive back in the National Football League for six seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Maryland in College Park, where he also played for the baseball team.

Early life and education

Brown was born in Laureldale, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. He then attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where he and played both baseball and football for the Terrapins.[3]

Career

Professional baseball

Brown played outfield and first base for the Washington Senators in 1963. A switch hitter who threw left-handed, he was signed to a minor league contract in late February,[4] played extremely well in spring training, batting .312,[5] and earned a spot on the major league team.[2] In the regular season, Brown batted a meek .147 in 61 games (23 as a starter), with 17 hits in 116 at bats, one home run, and four runs batted in.[6] Sent down to the minors, he played parts of two seasons (1963–1964) in the Senators' farm system with the York White Roses of the Class AA Eastern League; in 470 at bats, he batted .223 with eight home runs and 47 RBI. He was recalled up to the big club in September 1963, when he hit his sole homer.[1]

Brown left the York team in early July 1964, after signing with the Green Bay Packers.[7]

Professional football

Brown was selected in the second round (28th overall) of the 1963 NFL draft by the Packers, and twentieth overall in the AFL draft by the Buffalo Bills. After his stint in baseball with the Senators, he played defensive back for Green Bay from 1964 through 1968 and for the Washington Redskins in 1969.

In the 1966 NFL title game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Brown intercepted a fourth-down pass in the end zone by quarterback Don Meredith in the final minute, preserving the Packers' 34–27 victory over the Cowboys.[8][9][10] He was part of the Packers' unprecedented three consecutive NFL championship teams under Vince Lombardi which concluded with victories in the first two Super Bowls.

He was traded to the Washington Redskins in February 1969 in the first Redskins trade made by Vince Lombardi, who had been appointed the Redskins' new head coach.[11][12][13] Brown played in only one game for the Redskins, the opener against New Orleans, and then had shoulder surgery.[14] He was waived by the team in late August 1970,[15] a week prior to Lombardi's death from cancer.

Brown finished his NFL career with 13 interceptions and six fumble recoveries, including one for a touchdown, and also returned 27 punts and 7 kickoffs. His head coach for five seasons was Lombardi, four in Green Bay and one in Washington; the exception was in 1968, after Lombardi stepped down and was succeeded by Phil Bengtson. Brown led the Packers that season with four interceptions.[12]

Personal life

From 1989 to 2015, Brown ran a little league in Salisbury, Maryland for children ages 5–12 called Tom Brown's Rookie League.[16] The league was open to many ages. The sports included in the league were flag football, baseball and basketball.

Video

References

  1. [1]
    Gardner, Sam (August 25, 2015). "One & Done: Tom Brown had a blast before winning Super Bowl rings". Fox Sports. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  2. [2]
    "One vote for football". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. August 22, 1965. p. 1D.
  3. [3]
    Berkowitz, Steve (July 22, 1987). "Well Before There Was Bo Jackson, There was Tom Brown". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. [4]
    "Senators ink Tom Brown". Spartanburg Herald. South Carolina. Associated Press. February 27, 1963. p. 10.
  5. [5]
    "Tom Brown to attempt professional football". Kentucky New Era. Hopkinsville. Associated Press. July 7, 1964. p. 8.
  6. [6]
    "Brown says no to Pack". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. March 4, 1964. p. 2, part 2.
  7. [7]
    "Tom Brown to Packers". Nashua Telegraph. New Hampshire. Associated Press. July 7, 1964. p. 8.
  8. [8]
    Lea, Bud (January 2, 1967). "Packers tip Dallas for title, 34-27". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  9. [9]
    Strickler, George (January 2, 1967). "Packers win NFL title". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
  10. [10]
    Sell, Jack (January 2, 1967). "Packers hang on to beat Cowboys, 34-27". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 54.
  11. [11]
    "Skins get Brown from Green Bay". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. February 28, 1969. p. 6.
  12. [12]
    "Packers trade Brown to Vince". Morning Record. Meriden, Connecticut. Associated Press. February 28, 1969. p. 10.
  13. [13]
    "Redskins get Tom Brown of Packers". Chicago Tribune. UPI. February 28, 1969. p. 5, section 3.
  14. [14]
    "Tom Brown may sit out year". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. September 25, 1969. p. 8.
  15. [15]
    "Brown cut, Carter moves again". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. August 27, 1970. p. 17, part 2.
  16. [16]
    "Tom Brown's Rookie League". DelmarvaNow. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
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