Brian Douglass Holloway (born July 25, 1959) 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 ...

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 ...

who played 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) for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and

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 ...

from 1981 to 1988. 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 ...

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

. He is the father of David Holloway, who also played professional football.

Early life

Holloway was a standout athlete at Winston Churchill High School in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 47,018. It is named a ...

, playing on the 1976 state championship football team and breaking the school record in the shot put. He was recruited by Bill Walsh to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where he earned All-American honors.

New England Patriots

Brian Holloway was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round (19th overall) of the 1981 NFL draft out of

. As a rookie in 1981 he started 5 of 16 games. In the strike-shortened 1982 NFL season, Holloway started 9 of 9 games as he became the starting left

, next to guard John Hannah, and missed only one start up to the end of the

1986 NFL season The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. Defending Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears shared the league's best record with the Giants at 14–2, with the Giants claiming the spot in the NFC by tiebreakers. ...

. In the

1982–83 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1982 season began on January 8, 1983. The postseason tournament concluded with the Washington Redskins defeating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII, 27–17, on January 30, at the Rose Bowl in ...

, the Patriots lost to the

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 ...

in a wild-card game. They did not make the playoffs in 1983 and 1984 but did so in 1985. After beating the

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

in a wild-card game of the 1985–86 NFL playoffs, the Patriots beat the

on the road in the divisional round with a strong running game, amassing 156 yards, 104 by running back Craig James behind Holloway and Hannah. The line then destroyed the

' run defense on the road by accumulating 255 yards, 105 of them by James, winning the AFC title. However, they could not run over the legendary

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

defense of 1985 in

Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

, Holloway having a hard time with the formidably swift right

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Richard Dent, who would be named Most Valuable Player of the game. After finishing with a won-lost record of 11–5 and winning the

AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in th ...

division, New England fell short against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, led by quarterback

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 1 ...

, in a divisional round of the 1986–87 NFL playoffs. Holloway was one of the most dominating offensive tackles in his era, as indicated in part by three

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selections from 1983 to 1985.

Los Angeles Raiders

Brian Holloway played left offensive tackle with the

in 1987 and 1988 after being traded to the Raiders on September 2, 1987, in exchange for the Raiders' fifth-round selection in the 1988 NFL draft. In the strike-shortened

1987 NFL season The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). This season included games predominantly played by replacement players, as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) players were National ...

, he started eight of 12 games, but did not start in 1988, his final year in the NFL, being replaced at that position by

Don Mosebar Donald Howard Mosebar (born September 11, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a center for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1980s and 1990s. Mosebar was selected in the first round of th ...

Personal

Holloway had a home in Stephentown, New York for over 30 years, while living at his Florida residence in

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. While he was in Tampa on August 31, 2013, over 500 local high school students broke into his New York house and caused damage that Holloway says exceeds $20,000 while throwing a party. In response, Holloway set up a website
www.helpmesave300.com
to reach out to those who caused the damage in a positive way; instead, he received threats from their parents. Six people were arrested September 26, 2013 in connection with the partygoers who trashed the home. In October 2013, the Holloway home sold at foreclosure auction to the Berkshire Bank, which purchased it for $400,000. It was the sole bidder on the property. After the auction, the Albany Times Union reported that Holloway owed Berkshire Bank $1,006,348.80. He had also built up a backlog of unpaid property and school taxes, totaling $45,131. His younger brother Jonathan Holloway is the current president of

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

References

External links

Official website

Motivational Speaker - Brian Holloway - Total Access Speakers Bureau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holloway, Brian 1959 births Living people American football offensive tackles Los Angeles Raiders players New England Patriots players Stanford Cardinal football players American Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida People from Stephentown, New York Sportspeople from Rensselaer County, New York Sportspeople from Potomac, Maryland Players of American football from Montgomery County, Maryland Players of American football from Omaha, Nebraska