Robert “Highway” Brown
Green bay packers
Bob Brown's best season in his 11-year career in the National Football League came in 1972.
The defensive tackle was a key member of a Packer team that won the NFC Central Division title with a 10-4 record before losing to the Washington Redskins in the playoffs.
Brown's success was attributed to his weight loss in the off-season. He typically reported to Green Bay's training camp 30-40 pounds overweight, and it took several months for him to get into playing shape. But in '72, Brown came into camp at around 300 pounds, but ended up playing at 280 pounds. How did he lose the weight? Exercise? Personal trainer?
Brown lost the weight the hard way, with his jaw wired shut for a month in the summer after he was shot in the face while sitting in his parked car in Memphis, Tenn.
An accomplished cook who loved to eat, Brown had no choice except for a liquid diet as he recovered from the gunshot wound.
"Bob always ballooned up in the off-season, and he'd come into camp at around 320 or 330," former Green Bay guard Bill Lueck said.
"He was always pushed by the coaches to lose weight. The joke on the team was that we should hire someone to shoot him every year in the off-season. "He was in the best shape of his career and made the Pro Bowl that year."
Brown was a dominant force in '72, clogging the middle on running plays and applying pressure on the quarterback. He even scored the first and only points of his NFL career, recording a safety. Lueck said the 6-foot-5 Brown was one of the league's first athletic 300-plus pound defensive linemen. Lueck knew from first-hand experience, as he frequently squared off against Brown in practice.
"He had tremendous strength and talent and could really move," Lueck said. "But he lacked stamina. It typically took him until the middle of the season for him to be in shape." Lueck remembers Brown's positive personality and love of food and drink, especially during training camp.
"What a great guy he was. His locker was near mine, so I got to know him well," Lueck said. "Boy, could he drink beer. When we'd stop at Buck's Tavern near St. Norbert after practice, Bob didn't drink beer out of a glass, he drank it out of a pitcher. Then he'd say, 'Boy, I can't lose any weight.' "
Brown, who died in 1998 at the age of 58, admitted in a 1971 Packers Yearbook article that he had trouble controlling his eating habits."I have a tremendous weight problem," he said. "It doesn't take me long to jump up 15 or 20 pounds. But I can do it all. I like to cook. My specialties are barbecue and gravies." Once a season, Brown would cook dinner for the entire team at a local Green Bay restaurant. "He'd take over the kitchen and he'd cook barbecue and everything that goes along with it," Lueck said.
One thing Brown could not do very well was run distances. In Vince Lombardi's training camp, every man - regardless of position - had to complete a 2-mile run in less than 15 minutes. "Lombardi was always yelling at Bob and fining him because of his weight," Lueck said. "Everyone made the time, except Bob, so he had to keep running after practice until he did. "I'm not sure he ever made the time. If he was fresh, he was dangerous. But Bob was mainly able to go hard every third or fourth down."
Brown's path to the Packers was an interesting journey.
The former University of Arkansas AM&N star was taken in the 13th round (169th overall) of the 1964 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
As a rookie, he was cut from the 49ers roster. As a second-year player he was again released by San Francisco.
But Brown finished both seasons with the Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League. That's where Pat Peppler, former Packer personnel director from 1963-'71, first saw the film of Brown.
"He was a steal and he was a big strong guy," Peppler said. "And (Dave) Hog Hanner took an interest in him, as did Phil Bengtson."
Brown's career highlight was playing in the first Super Bowl game in Los Angeles, where the Packers defended the NFL's honor by disposing of the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. He recorded one of Green Bay's six sacks in the historic contest and collected a $15,000 paycheck - the largest single-game share in team sports history at the time. After playing at defensive tackle his rookie season for the Packers, Brown was moved to end. While he performed his duties well, he felt more comfortable at tackle.
In 1968, Brown was a youthful member of the then-aging Green Bay defensive line. He missed eight games of the season with two injuries. First, he broke his arm. Next he broke his leg early in another game, but finished the contest. "I'll be exclusively a defensive tackle from now on," Brown said in the yearbook article. "I think I play better inside and let one of those young fast guys take the outside."
In 1969, Brown was installed at right tackle, replacing the injured all-pro Henry Jordan. In 1970, he was asked to play right end for the retired Willie Davis, but he was soon back at his left tackle position when Rich Moore was injured. Brown proved to be the Packers' best offensive linemen for the next three seasons before Dan Devine traded him to the San Diego Chargers in 1974. He played two more seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before retiring.
"Bob died way too young," said Lueck, who went against his former teammate one last time when Brown played for the Chargers. "I'll always remember him as a great teammate and a fun guy to be around. And the man could cook."
Source: Martin Hendricks, Special to Packer Plus, Milwaukee Sentinel Journal
The defensive tackle was a key member of a Packer team that won the NFC Central Division title with a 10-4 record before losing to the Washington Redskins in the playoffs.
Brown's success was attributed to his weight loss in the off-season. He typically reported to Green Bay's training camp 30-40 pounds overweight, and it took several months for him to get into playing shape. But in '72, Brown came into camp at around 300 pounds, but ended up playing at 280 pounds. How did he lose the weight? Exercise? Personal trainer?
Brown lost the weight the hard way, with his jaw wired shut for a month in the summer after he was shot in the face while sitting in his parked car in Memphis, Tenn.
An accomplished cook who loved to eat, Brown had no choice except for a liquid diet as he recovered from the gunshot wound.
"Bob always ballooned up in the off-season, and he'd come into camp at around 320 or 330," former Green Bay guard Bill Lueck said.
"He was always pushed by the coaches to lose weight. The joke on the team was that we should hire someone to shoot him every year in the off-season. "He was in the best shape of his career and made the Pro Bowl that year."
Brown was a dominant force in '72, clogging the middle on running plays and applying pressure on the quarterback. He even scored the first and only points of his NFL career, recording a safety. Lueck said the 6-foot-5 Brown was one of the league's first athletic 300-plus pound defensive linemen. Lueck knew from first-hand experience, as he frequently squared off against Brown in practice.
"He had tremendous strength and talent and could really move," Lueck said. "But he lacked stamina. It typically took him until the middle of the season for him to be in shape." Lueck remembers Brown's positive personality and love of food and drink, especially during training camp.
"What a great guy he was. His locker was near mine, so I got to know him well," Lueck said. "Boy, could he drink beer. When we'd stop at Buck's Tavern near St. Norbert after practice, Bob didn't drink beer out of a glass, he drank it out of a pitcher. Then he'd say, 'Boy, I can't lose any weight.' "
Brown, who died in 1998 at the age of 58, admitted in a 1971 Packers Yearbook article that he had trouble controlling his eating habits."I have a tremendous weight problem," he said. "It doesn't take me long to jump up 15 or 20 pounds. But I can do it all. I like to cook. My specialties are barbecue and gravies." Once a season, Brown would cook dinner for the entire team at a local Green Bay restaurant. "He'd take over the kitchen and he'd cook barbecue and everything that goes along with it," Lueck said.
One thing Brown could not do very well was run distances. In Vince Lombardi's training camp, every man - regardless of position - had to complete a 2-mile run in less than 15 minutes. "Lombardi was always yelling at Bob and fining him because of his weight," Lueck said. "Everyone made the time, except Bob, so he had to keep running after practice until he did. "I'm not sure he ever made the time. If he was fresh, he was dangerous. But Bob was mainly able to go hard every third or fourth down."
Brown's path to the Packers was an interesting journey.
The former University of Arkansas AM&N star was taken in the 13th round (169th overall) of the 1964 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
As a rookie, he was cut from the 49ers roster. As a second-year player he was again released by San Francisco.
But Brown finished both seasons with the Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League. That's where Pat Peppler, former Packer personnel director from 1963-'71, first saw the film of Brown.
"He was a steal and he was a big strong guy," Peppler said. "And (Dave) Hog Hanner took an interest in him, as did Phil Bengtson."
Brown's career highlight was playing in the first Super Bowl game in Los Angeles, where the Packers defended the NFL's honor by disposing of the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. He recorded one of Green Bay's six sacks in the historic contest and collected a $15,000 paycheck - the largest single-game share in team sports history at the time. After playing at defensive tackle his rookie season for the Packers, Brown was moved to end. While he performed his duties well, he felt more comfortable at tackle.
In 1968, Brown was a youthful member of the then-aging Green Bay defensive line. He missed eight games of the season with two injuries. First, he broke his arm. Next he broke his leg early in another game, but finished the contest. "I'll be exclusively a defensive tackle from now on," Brown said in the yearbook article. "I think I play better inside and let one of those young fast guys take the outside."
In 1969, Brown was installed at right tackle, replacing the injured all-pro Henry Jordan. In 1970, he was asked to play right end for the retired Willie Davis, but he was soon back at his left tackle position when Rich Moore was injured. Brown proved to be the Packers' best offensive linemen for the next three seasons before Dan Devine traded him to the San Diego Chargers in 1974. He played two more seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before retiring.
"Bob died way too young," said Lueck, who went against his former teammate one last time when Brown played for the Chargers. "I'll always remember him as a great teammate and a fun guy to be around. And the man could cook."
Source: Martin Hendricks, Special to Packer Plus, Milwaukee Sentinel Journal