- Jerome Brown
Infobox NFLretired
caption=Brown playing for thePhiladelphia Eagles .
position=Defensive tackle
number=99
birthdate=birth date|1965|2|4Brooksville, Florida
deathdate=death date and age|1992|6|25|1965|2|4Brooksville, Florida
debutyear=1987
finalyear=1991
draftyear=1987
draftround=1
draftpick=9
college=University of Miami
teams=
*Philadelphia Eagles (1987-1991)
stat1label=Games Played
stat1value=76
stat2label=Sacks
stat2value=29.5
stat3label=INTs
stat3value=3
nfl=BRO487968
highlights=
* 2xPro Bowl selection (1990, 1991)
* 2xAll-Pro selection (1990, 1991)
* Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll
* Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team
* Philadelphia Eagles #99 retiredJerome Brown (
February 4 ,1965 -June 25 ,1992 ) was anAmerican football player who playeddefensive tackle for thePhiladelphia Eagles of theNational Football League .Brown was a key player on one of the NFL's top defenses before he died in a 1992 car accident. He is widely considered one of the most dominant defensive linemen to ever play the game.
Brown's son, Dee Brown, is now an outfielder in the farm system of the
Washington Nationals ofMajor League Baseball . [cite news|url=http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070318&content_id=1849584&vkey=spt2007news&fext=.jsp&c_id=was|title=Minors notes: Brown progressing|author=Ladson, Bill|publisher=MLB.com |date=March 19 ,2006 |accessdate=2006-03-19]University of Miami career
Brown played
college football at theUniversity of Miami , where he was a standout player for one of college football's most successful programs. He graduated from the university in 1987.1987 Fiesta Bowl controversies
Among his more notable moments as a University of Miami player, five days before the
1987 Fiesta Bowl , at a promotionalFiesta Bowl dinner with the Penn State team, Brown led a walkout by the Miami players. Leading the walkout, he asked: "Did the Japanese go sit down and have dinner withPearl Harbor before they bombed them?" Brown and his teammates felt that the Penn State players had disrespected them by openly mocking Miami's coach, Jimmy Johnson, at a pre-game banquet. John Bruno, a punter for the Nittany Lions, observed: " ... didn't the Japanese lose the war?" Penn State beat the heavily-favored Hurricanes 14-10, and were declared National Champions.Days earlier, Brown and fellow University of Miami players drew even greater national controversy when each were seen deplaning a chartered University of Miami plane at Phoenix's
Sky Harbor International Airport , wearing BDUs, an image that further solidied a national reputation of the University of Miami as "Thug U" in an era where college football players often are instructed to wear suits and ties in pre-Bowl game public appearances.Philadelphia Eagles
Brown was a first-round draft pick in the
1987 NFL Draft by thePhiladelphia Eagles . During his five-year professional career with the Eagles, he was twice selected to thePro Bowl (in 1990 and 1991).Death and legacy
Brown died on
June 25 ,1992 , at the age of 27, following an automobile accident inFlorida , in which both he and his nephew were killed when Brown lost control of hisChevrolet Corvette at high speed. Brown was buried inBrooksville, Florida ."Bring it home for Jerome"
Brown's jersey number (#99) was retired by the Eagles on
September 6 ,1992 , in an emotional pre-game ceremony atVeterans Stadium , prior to the Eagles' first game of the 1992 season. After his death, Eagles players and fans started the unofficial motto, "Bring it home for Jerome," an indirect reference among Eagles fans to bringing a Super Bowl title to the city in Brown's honor. A sign of the fondness with which Eagles fans continue to view Brown, the saying has continued to this day, over 15 years following his death.See also
*
Deaths in Sports Notes
External links
* [http://www.ci.brooksville.fl.us/jbcc/jbbcflyer.html Jerome Brown Community Center, Brooksville, Florida] .
* [http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20070717_Jerome_Browns_living_legacy.html "Jerome Brown's Living Legacy," "The Philadelphia Inquirer", July 17, 2007.]
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