Dave Brown

Dave Brown played cornerback in the NFL for 15 seasons, suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1975, the Seattle Seahawks from 1976 to 1986, and the Green Bay Packers from 1987 to 1989. Born in Akron, Ohio, on January 16, 1953, he was the son of Asa Brown, a rubber worker at a Goodyear plant. After starting his high school football career at Garfield High as a quarterback, he switched to wide receiver and defensive back, graduating in 1971.

At the University of Michigan, Brown played safety and returned punts for Bo Schembechler’s Wolverines from 1972 to 1974. Recruited as a wide receiver, he played both ways on the freshman team. As a sophomore in 1972, he started all 11 games at safety, helping Michigan to a 10–1 record and a defense that allowed just 57 points all season. He posted three interceptions—two in one game against Minnesota for 82 return yards—along with 73 tackles, eight pass breakups, and 189 punt return yards, including an 83-yard touchdown against Navy.

He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. In 1973, he again started every game for an undefeated 10–0–1 team that surrendered only 68 points. He returned 14 punts for 125 yards, with a 53-yard touchdown against Michigan State, and added 55 tackles and two interceptions, becoming a consensus All-American. As a senior in 1974, he started all 11 games for a 10–1 squad ranked third in the final AP Poll.

He returned 20 punts for 212 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown against Colorado, and contributed 46 tackles, four pass breakups, and four interceptions, earning unanimous All-American status. Over his three seasons, Brown totaled 526 punt return yards (11.7 per return), three punt-return touchdowns, 174 tackles, nine interceptions, 202 interception return yards, and 15 pass breakups. Michigan won or tied for the Big Ten title each year, led the nation in scoring defense twice, and recorded 11 shutouts. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007, after his death.

The defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers selected Brown in the first round of the 1975 NFL draft, 26th overall. Coach Chuck Noll was surprised he was still available, calling him a “hitter; a quality player and person; a leader on the field.” As a rookie, Brown appeared in 13 games without starting and returned 22 punts for 217 yards (9.9 average) for the Super Bowl X champions. In spring 1976, the expansion Seattle Seahawks picked him in the expansion draft.

He recorded his first interception on October 10, 1976, off Green Bay’s Lynn Dickey, and scored his first points on a safety against the Atlanta Falcons on November 7. On December 11, 1977, he returned an interception for his first touchdown, sealing a 34–31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Over 11 seasons with Seattle, he started all 159 games at right cornerback. On November 4, 1984, the Seahawks set an NFL record with four interception returns for touchdowns in a single game; Brown had two of them—a 90-yard return and a 56-yard return—in a 45–0 rout of the Chiefs.

After the 1984 season, he made the Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-NFL by the Associated Press, his only such honor. He was also a second-team All-AFC pick in 1985. His 50 interceptions with the Seahawks remain a club record, and his 62 career interceptions are tied for tenth in NFL history; only five players have more since his final season in 1989.

After his playing career, Brown turned to coaching. He served as defensive backs coach for the Seahawks from 1992 to 1998 and for the Texas Tech Red Raiders from 2001 until his death on January 10, 2006, six days before his 53rd birthday.