TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Robert S. Brown 1941-2023 Pro Football and College Hall of Fame Inductee
M any pro football writers and talent evaluators consid- ered Pro Football Hall of Famer Bob Brown one of the NFL’s finest offensive tackles in professional football history. During his ten-year playing career, Brown had a well-docu- mented reputation as a physically imposing player and a fierce competitor. Legendary Oakland Raiders, the late John Madden, commented that Bob “Boomer” Brown was the “most aggressive lineman that ever played.” Madden,
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee David “Deacon” Jones, “Bob Brown had a cold-blooded mentality. He’d kill a mosquito with an axe.” Robert “Bob” Brown (Eta 1963) entered the Chapter Invisible on June 16, 2023, at age 81. Pro Football Hall of Fame released the following statement on Brown, “On the field, he was as fierce an opponent as any defensive linemen or linebacker ever faced. He used every tactic and technique -- and sometimes brute force -- to crush the will of the person across the line from him. And took great pride in doing so.” Robert Stanford Brown was born in Cleveland, OH, on December 8, 1941. He attended Empire Junior High School, where his foot- ball career began at Empire Junior High School. After graduating from Cleveland’s Technical High School, Brown accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska, where he played
linebacker and offensive lineman.
Hall of Fame induct- ees. He played five seasons with the Eagles before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams. After two seasons in Los Angeles, the Oakland
Brown’s head coach, College Football Hall of Famer Bob Dev- aney, said, “the best two-way player I ever coached.” Brown was voted in 1963 unanimous All-Ameri- can and was the Husker
Raiders traded for Brown, where he played his final three seasons before retiring due to knee injuries. During his professional football career, Brown played in 126 games, was voted first-team All-Pro six times, played in the Pro Bowl six times, and was voted to the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade team. In 1993, Brown was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2004, Pro Football writers elected Brown to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Brown is among eleven Kappas enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, most of the Divine Nine fraternities. Also, in 2004, his alma mater retired his #64 jersey. ♦
program’s first black All-American. Also in
1963, the Washington, D.C. Touchdown Club was voted college football’s lineman of the Year. In his senior year, Brown led the Nebraska Huskers team to a 10-1 record and its first Big Eight Conference championship. A college teammate said of Brown, “He was a great teammate. “He was not a good guy to play against. He got after people on the game field. But with teammates and practice, he was great.” The NFL Philadelphia Eagles selected Brown with the second overall pick of the 1964 NFL Draft, which had 11 future Pro Football
who coached Brown for three seasons with the
Oakland Raiders stated, “Bob Brown played offense with a defensive guy’s personality.” Retired NFL Defensive End and fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Carl Eller said, “Bob Brown was probably my most feared competitor. He would strike out at you. His intent was to do bodily harm. He wanted to inflict pain.” Retired NFL Defensive End and fellow
96 THE JOURNAL ♦ SUMMER 2023
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