Ed Brown

Charles Edward Brown (October 26, 1928 – August 2, 2007) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback and punter in the National Football League (NFL). Prior to the NFL Brown went to high school in San Luis Obispo, California, and Hartnell College in Salinas, California. He played for the University of San Francisco Dons through 1951. On his senior year (1951), he quarterbacked the Dons to an undefeated 9–0 season, but the team did not receive a Bowl invitation. Despite the increasing integration of college and pro football, the major bowls that year did not select teams that had black players, or they asked the teams to not bring their black players. The Dons refused to send a white-only squad, so they were snubbed. The 1951 Dons featured Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, both superb players who happened to be African-American. Matson played with great success in the NFL and made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Toler went on to become the first black official in the NFL. The 1951 Dons are sometimes considered the greatest collection of players ever on one college team. Besides Matson, Toler, and Brown, the Dons had Gino Marchetti, Bob St. Clair, Dick Stanfel, and five other players who made the NFL. In addition, the Dons head coach Joe Kuharich went on to coach in the NFL, and their athletic news director (publicist) was Pete Rozelle, future NFL commissioner. Despite their great success -- or maybe it was because of it -- USF discontinued its football program after the 1951 season due to the high cost of running a top-notch football team. NFL career Chicago Bears years Brown was drafted by George Halas' Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 1952 NFL Draft. But Brown was drafted by the Marines and spent two years in service. He did play for the Camp Pendleton football squad. Brown began playing in 1954 as the third string quarterback for the Bears, behind George Blanda and Zeke Bratkowski. In 1955, with Bratkowski in the military, Brown beat out Blanda for the starting job and led the Bears to an 8–4 record and a very close second-place finish to the Los Angeles Rams. Brown developed a reputation as a longball-throwing, shot-and-a-beer quarterback, connecting often with Harlon Hill, who led the league with nine touchdown receptions. Brown had his finest season in 1956, playing for new Bears head coach Paddy Driscoll (Halas was still owner and GM and would soon return as coach).