Booker Taylor Brown (September 25, 1952 – July 18, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

for two seasons with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college in Santa Barbara, California. It opened in 1909 and is located on a campus. History Santa Barbara City College was established by the Santa Barbara High School District in 1909, m ...

and for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

, earning consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

. Brown was also a member of the

Southern California Sun The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in Anaheim, California, that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13–7 in 1974 and 7–5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. Th ...

of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL).

Early life

Booker Taylor Brown was born on September 25, 1952, in Wesson, Mississippi. He attended

Santa Barbara High School Santa Barbara Senior High School, "Home of the Dons," is situated on a sprawling campus in Santa Barbara, California in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Among the oldest high schools in California and one of five high schools in the Di ...

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was a lineman in football and a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

College career

Brown first played

from 1970 to 1971. In 2019, Brown was inducted into the Santa Barbara City College Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of their inaugural class. He was a two-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

from 1972 to 1973. The 1972 Trojans were consensus national champions. Brown was a consensus

Professional career

Brown was selected by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

of the

(NFL) in the sixth round, with the 154th overall pick, of the

1974 NFL draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the Pittsburgh Steelers to have had t ...

, and by the

of the

(WFL) in the third round, with the 31st overall pick, of the 1974 WFL draft. He decided to sign with the Sun and was a member of the team during the 1974 WFL season. On May 29, 1975, the Oilers traded the rights to Brown and Benny Johnson to the

for Carl Mauck. Brown signed with the Chargers on June 20, 1975. He played in 11 games, starting seven, for the Chargers during the 1975 season, recording one fumble recovery. The next year, he was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list on June 20, 1976. He appeared in six games, starting one, in 1977. On August 4, 1978, Brown was traded to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

for a 1980 fourth round draft pick. He was placed on injured reserve on August 30, 1978, and spent the entire season there. He was released by the Buccaneers on August 21, 1979.

Personal life

Brown was later a pastor and also founded a charitable organization. He died on July 18, 2022, in

Mojave, California Mojave (formerly Mohave) is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of Bakersfield, and north of Los Angeles, at an elevation of . The town is located in the western region of the Mojave ...

after an extended illness.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Booker 1952 births 2022 deaths Players of American football from Mississippi American football offensive tackles USC Trojans football players Southern California Sun players San Diego Chargers players All-American college football players People from Wesson, Mississippi Santa Barbara City Vaqueros football players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Tampa Bay Buccaneers players