Larry Brown (cornerback)
Encyclopedia
Larry Brown, Jr. is a former American football
cornerback
in the National Football League
for the Dallas Cowboys
and the Oakland Raiders
. He is mostly known for being named the MVP of Super Bowl XXX
. Brown was a starting
cornerback on all three Dallas Cowboys
championship teams of the nineties. He attended Texas Christian University (TCU)
in Fort Worth, Texas.
where he earned All-City honors in track
and football
.
After not receiving any scholarship offers he enrolled at Los Angeles Southwest College
where he played running back
his first year and cornerback
his second year.
As a junior he signed with Texas Christian University
where he was a two year starter at cornerback
, leading the Horned Frogs in passes deflected during his senior year and winning the MVP in the Blue–Gray Football Classic.
in the 12th round of the 1991 NFL Draft
by the Dallas Cowboys
. Although there wasn't many expectations for him at the start of training camp, he surprised the coaches with his play, even though he missed some days because of personal reasons and a hospitalization that was thought to be appendicitis.
Not only did he make the team, but by the fourth week of the season he was the starting right cornerback
, becoming the first Cowboys rookie to start at cornerback
since Ron Francis
did it in 1987
. He was also named to the NFL all-rookie team.
In 1995
with the Cowboys having discussions to possibly sign the flashy free agent
cornerback
Deion Sanders
, Brown was on his way to becoming a nickelback until Kevin Smith
tore his achilles tendon
in the first game of the 1995 season
against the New York Giants
on Monday Night Football
. The move went from a luxury to a need and Sanders was signed the following week, while Brown remained in the starting lineup and responded with the best season of his career.
That year the Cowboys reached Super Bowl XXIX
, where Brown became the first cornerback
to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award and the first defensive back
since 1973
to do it. In that game, Brown's two interceptions
of Pittsburgh Steelers
quarterback
Neil O'Donnell
helped lift the Cowboys to their third championship in four seasons. The award and acclaim he received was especially poignant considering the death of his young son earlier in the season.
Brown was a pivotal member of 3 Super Bowl
Championship teams, displaying a knack for making big plays and also coming up big against some of the best wide receivers in the NFL, like Jerry Rice
and Sterling Sharpe
.
MVP performance and used his award as leverage to gain a lucrative contract with the Oakland Raiders
. But he was a disappointment and was waived after playing just 12 games in two years for the Raiders.
, which would be the last year of his playing career. He retired with 14 career interceptions, which he returned for a total of 210 yards and two touchdown
s. He also recorded two fumble
recoveries.
Radio Network Pregame and Postgame Shows on 105.3 The Fan, the flagship station
of the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network
.
He also played himself in an episode of Married… with Children. He was named Number 3 in NFL Top 10
for One Shot Wonders.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
and the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He is mostly known for being named the MVP of Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
. Brown was a starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
cornerback on all three Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
championship teams of the nineties. He attended Texas Christian University (TCU)
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
in Fort Worth, Texas.
Early years
Brown attended Los Angeles High SchoolLos Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are blue and white and the teams are called the Romans....
where he earned All-City honors in track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
.
After not receiving any scholarship offers he enrolled at Los Angeles Southwest College
Los Angeles Southwest College
Los Angeles Southwest College is a community college located in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, California, United States, near the city of Los Angeles...
where he played running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
his first year and cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
his second year.
As a junior he signed with Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
where he was a two year starter at cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
, leading the Horned Frogs in passes deflected during his senior year and winning the MVP in the Blue–Gray Football Classic.
Dallas Cowboys (first stint)
Brown was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the 12th round of the 1991 NFL Draft
1991 NFL Draft
The 1991 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 21–22, 1991 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan, New York...
by the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. Although there wasn't many expectations for him at the start of training camp, he surprised the coaches with his play, even though he missed some days because of personal reasons and a hospitalization that was thought to be appendicitis.
Not only did he make the team, but by the fourth week of the season he was the starting right cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
, becoming the first Cowboys rookie to start at cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
since Ron Francis
Ron Francis (American football)
Ronald Bernard Francis is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Baylor University.-External links:*...
did it in 1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
. He was also named to the NFL all-rookie team.
In 1995
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
with the Cowboys having discussions to possibly sign the flashy free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders
Deion Luwynn Sanders , nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst...
, Brown was on his way to becoming a nickelback until Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith (cornerback)
Kevin Rey Smith is a former professional American football player who played cornerback in the National Football League for nine seasons for the Dallas Cowboys.-High school career:...
tore his achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
in the first game of the 1995 season
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
against the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
. The move went from a luxury to a need and Sanders was signed the following week, while Brown remained in the starting lineup and responded with the best season of his career.
That year the Cowboys reached Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX
Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game played on January 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1994 regular season...
, where Brown became the first cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award and the first defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
since 1973
1973 NFL season
The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...
to do it. In that game, Brown's two interceptions
Interception (football)
An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...
of Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Neil O'Donnell
Neil O'Donnell
Neil Kennedy O'Donnell is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, and Tennessee Titans...
helped lift the Cowboys to their third championship in four seasons. The award and acclaim he received was especially poignant considering the death of his young son earlier in the season.
Brown was a pivotal member of 3 Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
Championship teams, displaying a knack for making big plays and also coming up big against some of the best wide receivers in the NFL, like Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
and Sterling Sharpe
Sterling Sharpe
Sterling Sharpe is a former American football wide receiver and an analyst for the NFL Network. He attended the University of South Carolina, and played from 1988 to 1994 with the Green Bay Packers.-Early life:...
.
Oakland Raiders
Brown became a free agent immediately after his Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
MVP performance and used his award as leverage to gain a lucrative contract with the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. But he was a disappointment and was waived after playing just 12 games in two years for the Raiders.
Dallas Cowboys (second stint)
He returned to Dallas for the 1998 season1998 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1998 Dallas Cowboys season would mark their 39th in the NFL and team owner Jerry Jones would hire former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Chan Gailey to be the fourth head coach of the Dallas Cowboys franchise.-Regular season:...
, which would be the last year of his playing career. He retired with 14 career interceptions, which he returned for a total of 210 yards and two touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s. He also recorded two fumble
Fumble
A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...
recoveries.
Personal life
Currently, Brown is a cohost of The Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
Radio Network Pregame and Postgame Shows on 105.3 The Fan, the flagship station
Flagship station
In broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast which originates a television network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls...
of the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network
Dallas Cowboys Radio Network
The Dallas Cowboys Radio Network is an American radio network broadcasting all Dallas Cowboys football games to stations across all of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico during the NFL season. Beginning with the 2009 NFL season, it is the arm of CBS Radio and comprises over 50...
.
He also played himself in an episode of Married… with Children. He was named Number 3 in NFL Top 10
NFL Top 10
NFL Top 10 is a documentary program produced by NFL Films for airing on the NFL Network. The host and narrator is Derrin Horton.The program counts down 10 items directly related to the players, coaches, and events of the National Football League, with former players, NFL Network personalities, and...
for One Shot Wonders.