It was 20 years to the date on December 5th (Yes, I was a day late because I was away on business) that Notre Dame had its 7th Heisman Trophy winner in Tim Brown. In fact, Tim was the first, true wide receiver to win the award. He graduated a year too soon before the Irish won their last National Championship in 1988.
The single attribute that sets the great football player apart from the merely good one is the ability to turn a game around on one play. More than any other college star of the 1987 season, Tim Brown possessed this rare talent, and it is for this reason that he was the 53rd winner of college football's most coveted individual award, The Heisman Trophy. Brown, who did everything on a football field except sell tickets, is the seventh Trophy recipient from Notre Dame, which is tied with USC for the most Heisman winners. He caught passes, ran back punts and kickoffs, rushed when necessary, and drove any defense to distraction just by being on the field. At 6 feet and 195 pounds, Brown is not huge by football standards. But he possessed great speed, elusiveness in the open field, sure hands and a fine grasp of the strategy and tactics of what is in reality a complex game. "He is," says Lou Holtz, "the most intelligent player I've ever been around." As a measure of Brown's versatility, consider these statistics through the first nine games of the season: 32 pass receptions for 729 yards and 3 touchdowns; 29 rushes for 133 yards and a touchdown; and three touchdowns. Tim was drafted by the Oakland Raiders as their number one pick in the 1988 NFL Draft.
Congrats Tim on what was truly a wonderful football career!
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