Brown, Timothy D.
Football
b. June 22, 1966, Dallas, TX
The fast, elusive, 6-foot-1, 195-pound Brown starred as a kick returner, wide receiver, and occasional running back at Notre Dame. He was named to most All-American teams in 1986 and 1987 and he won the 1987 Heisman Trophy as the outstanding college player of the year.
Brown totalled 5,024 yards at Notre Dame, averaging 116.8 per game, and scored 22 touchdowns. He was chosen in the first round, the sixth choice overall, by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1988 NFL college draft.
As a rookie, Brown led the league in kickoff returns with 41 for 1,098 yards, a 26.8 average, and 1 touchdown. He also caught 43 passes for 725 yards, a 16.9 average, and 5 touchdowns; returned 49 punts for 444 yards, a 9.1 average; and rushed 14 times for 50 yards and 1 touchdown. His total of 2,317 yards was a rookie record.
Brown played only one game in 1989 because of a knee injury and he came back slowly in 1990. However, he became a starter again in 1991 and had two more good seasons, though they weren't as spectacular as his rookie year.
In the next seven seasons, from 1993 through 1999, Brown caught 80 or passes each year, with a high of 104 in 1997. His total dropped to 76 catches in 2000, but went back up to 91 in 2001 and he caught 81 passes in 2002.
Through 2002, Brown had caught 1,018 passes for 14,167 yards, a 13.9 average, and 97 touchdowns. He had also returned 304 punts for 3106 yards, a 10.2 average, and 2 touchdowns; returned 41 kickoffs for 1235 yards, a 25.2 average, and 1 touchdown; and rushed 50 times for 190 yards, 1 3.8 ave, and 1 touchdown.