Gene Brito
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
End
Huntington Park, California, U.S.
Duarte, California, U.S.
 Brito on a 1955 Bowman football card | |||||||||||
| No. 80, 79 | |||||||||||
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| Positions | Defensive end End | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | November 23, 1925 Huntington Park, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Died | June 8, 1965 (aged 39) Duarte, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Listed weight | 226 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Abraham Lincoln (Los Angeles, California) | ||||||||||
| College | Loyola–Los Angeles | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1951: 17th round, 196th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Gene Herman Brito (November 23, 1925 – June 8, 1965) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams from 1951 to 1960. He played college football for the Loyola Lions.
Brito, born to a Spanish-American father and Mexican-American mother, grew up in Lincoln Heights, a then mostly Italian American neighborhood, located in Los Angeles. His father was a boxer, and he had two younger sisters.[1] Brito attended Lincoln High School where he was a standout athlete.[1]
College career
Brito graduated from Loyola Marymount University (then Loyola University) as a multi-sport athlete, starring in football, baseball, basketball, and track.
Professional career
Brito began his career as an offensive end right as he was about to turn 26, catching 45 passes in his first two seasons before being moved to defensive end in 1953. He was named the NFL Player of the Year by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club after the 1955 season. Brito played in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders in 1954 where he was an All-conference selection in the CFL's Western Conference. In the NFL, he was a five-time Pro Bowler in 1953 and from 1955 to 1958.[2] He was selected as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins, a list compiled by the Redskins in 2002 to commemorate the 70-year anniversary of the team. He is one of four defensive ends on the team, along with Dexter Manley, Ron McDole and Charles Mann. In 2004, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class.[3]
