Robert Brown (tight end)

Robert Earl Brown was born on January 1, 1943, in Pace, Mississippi.^[1] He attended East Side High School in Cleveland, Mississippi.^[1]

Brown played college football for the Alcorn A&M Braves of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. He was on the freshman team in 1962 and was a three-year letterman from 1963 to 1965.^[1] He was inducted into the Alcorn State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.^[2]

Brown played for the Montreal Beavers of the Continental Football League in 1966, catching 44 passes for 785 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing 15 times for 114 yards.^[1]

Brown spent time on the taxi squad of the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League in 1967.^[3] He then served a stint in the United States Army.^[4][1] He returned to the Cardinals' taxi squad in 1968.^[3] He also played for the Cardinals' farm team, the Virginia Sailors of the Atlantic Coast Football League, during the 1968 season.^[1] Brown played in 12 games for St. Louis during the 1969 season but did not record a catch.^[5] He appeared in all 14 games, starting one, in 1970 and did not catch a pass for the second straight year.^[5]

On September 13, 1971, Brown and Nate Wright were traded to the Minnesota Vikings for Mike McGill, Dale Hackbart, and an undisclosed draft pick.^[6][3] Brown played in eight games, starting four, for the Vikings in 1971, catching six passes for 141 yards.^[5] He also played in, and started, one game during the 1971 postseason.^[5]

On September 1, 1972, Brown was traded to the New Orleans Saints for two undisclosed draft picks.^[4] He played in all 14 games, starting five, during the 1972 season, recording 11 receptions for 175 yards and one touchdown.^[5] He appeared in five games, all starts, in 1973 and caught 11 passes for 132 yards before being placed on injured reserve.^[5][7] Brown was released by the Saints on August 30, 1974.^[3]

Brown signed with the Birmingham Americans of the World Football League (WFL) on September 17, 1974, during the middle of the season.^[3] He made 16 catches for 266 yards during the 1974 season.^[1] The Americans finished the year with a 15–5 record and advanced to the World Bowl, where they beat the Florida Blazers by a score of 22–21.^[8] However, the Americans folded after the season.

Brown signed with the new Birmingham Vulcans for the 1975 WFL season.^[9] He caught nine passes for 172 yards in 1975.^[1] The Vulcans had a 9–3 record before the WFL folded during the middle of the season.^[10]

Brown was also a short-yardage blocker and special teams player during his NFL career.^[4]