Pro Football Hall of Famer Bob Brown died Friday in Oakland, California, the Hall of Fame announced Saturday. He was 81.
Brown’s wife, Cecelia, said her husband passed peacefully at a rehabilitation center surrounded by
family and friends. He was admitted to the center after a stroke in April.
The Washington, D.C., Touchdown Club voted Brown college football’s lineman of the year in 1963. He was an All-American guard at Nebraska and was drafted in the first round (second overall) by the Eagles in 1964. The Broncos also drafted Brown in the first round (fourth overall) in the American Football League draft.
He chose the more established league and spent five seasons with the Eagles, two with the Rams and three with the Raiders. Brown earned six Pro Bowls and five times was All-Pro as a right tackle.
Brown once described himself as being “about as subtle as a 16-pound sledgehammer.” Defensive linemen surely wouldn’t argue.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will fly the flag at half-staff in Brown’s honor.
The Brown family has not finalized memorial service arrangements.
