Roosevelt Brown, 1932-2004
Hall of Fame tackle Roosevelt Brown died yesterday (June 9) at the age of 71. The eight-time all-pro starred for the New York Giants from 1953 to 1965.
"Rosie was not only a fantastic football player but a wonderful man," commented Hall of Fame President John Bankert. "He was a great friend of the Hall of Fame and will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Linda and his entire family at this very difficult time."
Brown was selected in the 27th round of the 1953 National Football League Draft out of Morgan State by the Giants. Given the opportunity, he flourished in a hurry on the pro level. He quickly earned the starting right tackle position for the Giants and held it for the next 13 seasons.
During that time, he earned All-NFL honors eight straight years from 1956 to 1963 and was voted to play in nine Pro Bowls. Rosey was named the NFL's lineman of the year in 1956.
He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on January 11, 1975 and was formally enshrined on August 2 of that year along with George Connor, Dante Lavelli, and Lenny Moore.