Allen Brown (March 2, 1943 – January 27, 2020) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

the University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Mississi ...

Early years

He attended

Natchez High School Natchez High School is a public school in Natchez, Mississippi (USA). It is part of the Natchez-Adams School District and serves students in grades nine through twelve. About In 2005, it had 1358 students and 73 teachers. 88% of the students wer ...

, where he was a three-sport athlete and almost chose

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

for college. Playing for

Johnny Vaught John Howard Vaught (May 6, 1909 – February 3, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) from 1947 to 1970 and aga ...

at Ole Miss, Brown lettered three times (1962–64) and was a co-captain of the 1964 team. He was recognized as All-America by several publications for the 1964 season and was a first-team All-SEC selection his final two years. He was inducted into Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2004, Brown was honored by the Southeastern Conference as an SEC football legend. He was honored with "Allen Brown Day" in his hometown.

Professional career

Brown was drafted by the Packers in the third round (38th overall) of the

1965 NFL Draft The 1965 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 28, 1964. The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants. The draft was marked by the failur ...

. He was also drafted by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the third round (22nd overall) of the 1965 American Football League Draft. Brown signed with the Packers in December 1964. He missed the whole 1965 season with a dislocated shoulder. Brown played five games in the 1966 season before injuring his knee. He played in every game in 1967, recording three receptions, before he ruptured a kidney against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the final game. He retired the next spring.

Post-career life

Brown had two sons who played at Ole Miss as well, Timothy Brown and Burkes Brown. He died on January 27, 2020.

References

1943 births 2020 deaths American football tight ends Green Bay Packers players Sportspeople from Natchez, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi Ole Miss Rebels football players {{tightend-1940s-stub