Tom Brown | |||||||||||||
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| Born | (1940-12-12)December 12, 1940 Laureldale, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | April 24, 2025(2025-04-24) (aged 84) Palm Harbor, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Maryland, College Park | ||||||||||||
| Football career | |||||||||||||
| No. 40, 21 | |||||||||||||
| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Montgomery Blair(Silver Spring, Maryland) | ||||||||||||
| College | Maryland | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1963: 2nd round, 28th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| AFL draft | 1963: 3rd round, 20th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Baseball player Baseball career | |||||||||||||
| Outfielder,first baseman | |||||||||||||
Batted:Switch Threw: Left | |||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||
| April 8, 1963, for the Washington Senators | |||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||
| September 29, 1963, for the Washington Senators | |||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||
| Batting average | .147 | ||||||||||||
| Home runs | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 4 | ||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||
Thomas William Brown (December 12, 1940 – April 24, 2025) was an American professionalfootball andbaseball player. He won three consecutiveNational Football League (NFL) championships with theGreen Bay Packers.[1][2] He was the first athlete to both play baseball in themajor leagues and appear in a Super Bowl.[3][4][5]
Brown played bothcollege football andbaseball for theMaryland Terrapins. In 1963, he played baseball professionally for theWashington Senators of theAmerican League, before becoming adefensive back in the NFL for six seasons with the Packers andWashington Redskins.
Brown was born inLaureldale, Pennsylvania, on December 12, 1940.[6] He attendedMontgomery Blair High School inSilver Spring, Maryland, a suburb ofWashington, D.C.[6] He was an All-Met selection in football andbasketball, but not in baseball, which he said "was always my first love".[7]
Brown accepted afootball scholarship from theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, on the condition that he was exempt from spring practice, freeing him to play baseball. "Football I just used, I guess, to get an education in college. I never really liked football that much", he said,[7] adding that his parents were not well off.[8] As ajunior for theTerrapins, Brown was named a first-teambaseball All-American and set anAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) record with a .449batting average. In hissenior year in 1962, he was an honorable mentionAll-American in football while recording an ACC-record 11interceptions.[7][9]
In December 1962,[8] Brown was selected by theGreen Bay Packers in the second round of the1963 NFL draft with the 28th overall pick, and by theBuffalo Bills in the third round ofthe American Football League draft with the 20th overall selection.[6] He attended the Packers'1962 NFL championship game, visited the locker room, and said, "These guys are big. I'm going to play baseball".[8] A few months later, he signed aminor league contract with theWashington Senators baseball team, forgoing his final season of college baseball eligibility.[8][9]
Brown played in theoutfield and atfirst base for the Senators in1963. Aswitch hitter who threw left-handed, he played extremely well inspring training, batting .312,[10] and earned a spot on the major league team.[2] He began the regular season as thestarting first baseman,[1] but after starting the year with nohits in 14at bats, he was replaced in the lineup withDick Phillips[7] Brown was sent to the minors on June 29 after batting only .100 with 31strikeouts in 80 at bats.[7] After batting .228 in 77Class AA games with theYork White Roses in theEastern League, he was recalled by Washington in September,[7][1] when he hit his onlyhome run in the majors.[1] After hitting 8-for-32 to close the season,[1] Brown finished the year with the Senators batting .147 in 61 games (23 as a starter), with 17 hits in 116 at bats with one homer, and fourruns batted in.[11][12]
After declining an offer from Green Bay and re-signing with Washington for 1964,[11] Brown batted .161 in spring training and was sent down to York 48 hours before the Senators' opening day.[7] With a .217 average in early July, he decided to quit baseball and sign to play football with Green Bay.[1][12][13]
Brown playeddefensive back for the Packers from1964 through1968.[7] He was their startingfree safety in1965, when they won anNFL championship.[1] In the1966 NFL Championship Game at theCotton Bowl inDallas, Brown intercepted a fourth-down pass in theend zone by quarterbackDon Meredith in the final minute, preserving the Packers' 34–27 victory over theCowboys.[14][15][16] He was part of the Packers' unprecedented three consecutive NFL titles under head coachVince Lombardi, which concluded with victories inSuper Bowls I andII.[7]
Brown was traded to theWashington Redskins in February 1969 in the first Redskins trade made by Lombardi, who had been appointed Washington's new head coach.[17][18][19] Brown played in only one game for the Redskins, their1969 opener againstNew Orleans, and then had shoulder surgery.[20] He was waived by the team in late August1970,[21] He was signed by theMinnesota Vikings but released a month later.[7] His chronic shoulder injury coupled with Lombardi's death that year prompted him to retire from football.[1]
Brown finished his NFL career with 13 interceptions and sixfumble recoveries, including one for atouchdown, and also returned 27punts and 7kickoffs.[6] His head coach for five seasons was Lombardi, four in Green Bay and one in Washington; the exception was in1968, after Lombardi stepped down and was succeeded byPhil Bengtson.[1][18] Brown led the Packers that season with four interceptions.[18]
Brown received his degree from the University of Maryland, completing his studies between seasons during his pro playing career.[7] From 1989 to 2015, he ran a youth sports league inSalisbury, Maryland, for children ages 5–12 called Tom Brown's Rookie League, which includedflag football, baseball and basketball.[22]
Brown died inPalm Harbor, Florida on April 24, 2025,[a] at the age of 84.[23]
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