Donald Brown (born November 28, 1963) is an American former 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 ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who played two seasons in 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) 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 ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He was selected by the Chargers in the fifth round of the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott M ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

before transferring to the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. Brown also played for the

Miami Hooters Miami is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.14 million, is the second-largest metropolitan ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He was named second-team

All-Arena An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL). Teams * 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987 * 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988 * 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989 * 1990 Al ...

in 1994.

Early life

Donald Brown was born on November 28, 1963, in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Annapolis High School in Annapolis. He earned '' Arundel Sun'' All-County honors as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

his senior year in 1980. He set a single-game school record with 276 rushing yards that season. Brown also played baseball and basketball in high school.

College career

Brown was a member of the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

of the

in 1981 as a running back but played very sparingly. On December 31, 1981, it was reported that he would likely

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

the 1982 season. By December 1983, Brown had transferred to the

for the 1984 season. He ended up switching to

in 1984. He recorded one interception and five kick returns for 53 yards that year. He made one interception in 1985.

Professional career

Brown was selected by the

in the fifth round, with the 129th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 21. He played in 13 games, starting seven, for the Chargers in 1986, recording one interception and two fumble recoveries. Brown was released on December 2, 1986. Brown signed with the

on December 9, 1986. He appeared in two games for the Dolphins during the 1986 season. He was released on August 18, 1987. Brown was signed by the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

on August 20, 1987, and was released on August 27, 1987. On October 2, 1987, Brown signed with the

during the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president ...

. He started all three strike games for the Giants, totaling one interception and one fumble recovery. He was released on October 19 after the strike ended. Brown later re-signed with the team on December 23, 1987. Brown was projected to start in place of the injured Mark Collins during the team's regular season finale but Brown did not end up playing in the game. He was released on July 24, 1988. Brown played in nine games for the

of the

in 1994, recording 44 solo tackles, four assisted tackles, five interceptions, nine pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He was named second-team

as a defensive specialist for the 1994 season. The Hooters finished the year with a 5—7 record. He appeared in ten games in 1995, totaling four solo tackles, three assisted tackles, and one pass breakup.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Donald 1963 births American football defensive backs American football running backs Living people Los Angeles Raiders players Maryland Terrapins football players Miami Dolphins players Miami Hooters players NFL replacement players New York Giants players Oklahoma Sooners football players San Diego Chargers players Players of American football from Annapolis, Maryland 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen