Less Browne (born December 7, 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 ...

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 in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He was a member of the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL, and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

, Ottawa Rough Riders and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the CFL.

Professional career

Browne originally signed as a pro with the USFL's the Pittsburgh Maulers after being drafted in the 13th round (284th overall) by the expansion club in the 1984 Draft (January 4, 1984). Browne signed a contract with the Maulers and started the season on their roster, however, was never activated for game action. He was released after the second week of the season by the Maulers on March 6, 1984 and later that spring signed with the CFL

. Browne holds the CFL and all-pro records for most interceptions in a career with 87. He also holds the record for most interception return yards with 1,508. Browne ranks third in the CFL for career blocked kicks with eight. Browne played in four Grey Cup games (1985, 1986, 1990, and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

), winning the latter three. He was a six-time CFL All-Star, and was twice runner-up for the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award, in 1986 by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and in

by the BC Lions.

Post-career

He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in 2002 and in November, 2006 was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#23) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network The Sports Network/TSN. He later became an assistant coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

External links

Canadian Football Hall of Fame bio
1959 births Living people BC Lions players Canadian football defensive backs Canadian Football League announcers Colorado State Rams football players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Ottawa Rough Riders players Pittsburgh Maulers players Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from East Liverpool, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio African-American coaches of Canadian football 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen {{Canadianfootball-defensiveback-stub