Bill Brown

William Dorsey Brown (June 29, 1938 – November 4, 2018) was an American professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, including 13 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini. He was named to the Pro Bowl four times with the Vikings.

Early life Brown was born on June 29, 1938, in Mendota, LaSalle County, Illinois. He attended Mendota High School, along with his one-year older brother Jim. Both brothers were all-state in football. While at Mendota, he also was teammates with future Canadian Football League Hall of Famer Ray Jauch. Brown also participated on the track team, and was an Illinois state champion in throwing the shot put as a junior. In his senior year, he had a toss of 57 ft 9 in (17.6 m), which was six inches beyond the state shot put record.

College After graduating from Mendota, Brown played college football at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, at fullback.

Brown was an All-Big Ten fullback, and also won the Big Ten shot put title and set an Illinois record with a toss of . He was captain of the 1960 football team, and led the Illini in rushing yards in 1959 and 1960, and points in 1959. He was the team's punter (averaging 40.3 yards per punt over three years), while also playing linebacker in 1959. He scored the winning touchdowns in an upset of number 4 ranked Army in 1959, and on the final play against Wisconsin that same year. He was twice selected second-team All-Conference. Professional football career Brown was a second round choice (20th overall) of the Chicago Bears in the 1961 NFL draft. He had also been selected in the sixth round of the 1961 AFL draft by the New York Titans. In 1961, he played in the Vikings inaugural game in Metropolitan Stadium, but as a Bear. Brown was traded to the Vikings before the 1962 season, for a fourth-round draft pick in the 1964 NFL draft. Brown played for the Vikings for 13 seasons, including three Super Bowls (IV, VIII, and IX).

1964 was his best season, gaining 866 yards rushing, 703 yards on 48 receptions, and including a game high 128 receiving yards and 226 total yards from scrimmage against the Chicago Bears on December 13, 1964. In 1963, he had a 78-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams. His coach, Pro Football Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin, gave Brown the nickname.

Legacy Brown holds many Vikings team records. Brown holds Vikings records for most regular season games played by a running back (180), and most games started by a running back (111). Brown is second in team history for career rushing attempts (1,627), behind Peterson (2,418), and is tied for second in team history with Chuck Foreman in rushing touchdowns (52). Brown is fifth in Vikings history in combined total yards gained (9,198), after Peterson (14,108), Carter (12, 410), Darrin Nelson (10,377), and Moss (9,670). He rushed for two touchdowns in a single game ten times.

Honors In 2004, Brown was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor.

Death Brown died on November 4, 2018, at a memory center in Edina, Minnesota where he had resided for five years. Brown had been diagnosed with dementia. His brain was donated to Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, to determine if Brown had CTE, as he had suffered concussions during his playing days. He was survived by his children Scott, Shelley, Kimberly, and Mick. Former Vikings and Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon was his son-in-law.

NFL career statistics Legend Won NFL championship Led the league Bold Career high Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles GP GS Att Yds Avg Y/G Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum FR 1961 CHI 14 3 22 81 3.7 5.8 20 0 2 6 3.0 13 0 2 1 1962 MIN 14 2 34 103 3.0 7.4 15 0 10 124 12.4 29 1 1 1 1963 MIN 14 13 128 445 3.5 31.8 21 5 17 109 6.4 30 2 7 2 1964 MIN 14 14 226 866 3.8 61.9 48 7 48 703 14.6 64 9 9 4 1965 MIN 14 13 160 699 4.4 49.9 40 6 41 503 12.3 47 1 9 3 1966 MIN 14 14 251 829 3.3 59.2 33 6 37 359 9.7 56 0 4 1 1967 MIN 14 14 185 610 3.3 43.6 29 5 22 263 12.0 43 0 3 1 1968 MIN 14 14 222 805 3.6 57.5 32 11 31 329 10.6 57 3 6 2 1969 MIN 12 12 126 430 3.4 35.8 30 3 21 183 8.7 27 0 3 1 1970 MIN 14 7 101 324 3.2 23.1 18 0 15 149 9.9 17 2 3 0 1971 MIN 14 6 46 136 3.0 9.7 23 2 10 94 9.4 36 0 0 0 1972 MIN 14 0 82 263 3.2 18.8 19 4 22 298 13.5 76 4 4 0 1973 MIN 14 2 47 206 4.4 14.7 21 3 5 22 4.4 7 1 2 0 1974 MIN 14 0 19 41 2.2 2.9 11 0 5 41 8.2 21 0 3 1Career 194 114 1,649 5,838 3.5 30.1 48 52 286 3,183 11.1 76 23 56 17