How this unexpected star became Kansas State’s most decorated NFL player
The most honored NFL player to have suited up for Kansas State was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame last weekend.
Jordy Nelson? Terence Newman? No, and they’re already in. The assumption is Darren Sproles is on his way.
This was Larry Brown’s time.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell — or if you’re thinking of the basketball coach who led Kansas to the 1988 NCAA basketball championship — it’s understandable.
Larry Brown, the football player, lined up as a blocking back for coach Vince Gibson’s 1967 and 1968 Wildcats after transferring from Dodge City Community College. In his K-State career, Brown rushed for 684 yards and two touchdowns for teams that combined to post a 5-15 record.
Not exactly Hall of Fame numbers. Mostly, Brown opened holes for Cornelius Davis and Mack Herron, and in his final season caught a few passes from Lynn Dickey.
All were NFL Draft selections, with Dickey and Herron going on to NFL careers. But neither was as decorated as Brown, who was taken by the Washington Redskins in 1969 in the eighth round.
Eight years later, Brown retired after having twice led the NFL in rushing. He was named two four Pro Bowls, two All-Pro teams and was the 1972 NFL Most Valuable Player selected by The Associated Press.
The Pro Bowls and All-Pro selections are tops among K-State players in the NFL.
Brown, 77, said he was thrilled to be part of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Class. But he also believes his career is Pro Football Hall of Fame worthy.
“I’m satisfied to the extent I made a contribution,” Brown said about his NFL career. “I’m not satisfied that I’m not in the Hall of Fame (in Canton, Ohio).”
This productive NFL career happened because Washington’s new coach saw something in Brown others didn’t. Vince Lombardi, after five NFL championships with the Green Bay Packers, had taken over and was impressed with Brown’s ability and toughness. But he also wondered why Brown hesitated on the snap and was slow on checks into certain plays.
Lombardi arranged to have Brown’s hearing checked and discovered he was deaf in his right ear. Outfitted with a special helmet, Brown ran with timing and focus ... and Lombardi’s voice ringing now in both ears.
“He had this tendency of pointing his finger in your face and calling you ‘Mr. This’ or ‘Mr. That,’” Brown said. “He called me that so many times I thought my first name changed to Mister.”
But Lombardi got the best from Brown in his one year in the nation’s capital. Brown led the team with 888 rushing yards, and Washington posted its first winning record in 14 years.
Lombardi died before the 1970 season; George Allen took over and Brown continued to thrive, posting the first of his two 1,000-yard seasons.
It all came together in 1972. Brown topped the NFC with 1,216 rushing yards, leading Washington to the NFC Championship and a Super Bowl date with the Miami Dolphins, who finished their 17-0 season with a 14-7 victory. That was Brown’s NFL MVP season.
At the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame ceremony in Topeka last weekend, Brown recalled that a coaching connection brought him from his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hometown to Dodge City, providing an eye-opening experience.
“I got off the train and there was Gunsmoke Street and Wyatt Earp Hotel, and said, ‘What have I done?’” Brown said.
After one season, Brown had only a couple of offers to play major college ball, but one was from Kansas State.
“That was the beginning of a good career in football,” Brown said.
And a good stretch for Kansas State. It’s true the program was among college football’s most downtrodden until coach Bill Snyder arrived for the 1989 season. An exception to the decades of malaise was the Gibson era, and Brown helped get it off the ground.
After football, Brown worked as a financial management advisor for E.F. Hutton, in community affairs for Xerox, and as an executive in commercial real estate. Not exactly a blocking back type of career. But Brown made the most of that role.
“Back then I felt like I had to do what the team requested me to do,” Brown said. “That was to open holes.”