Talk:Larry Brown (running back)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
One of my favorite mind games is: Whatever happened to ... ? Usually it is good not to know the answer. There is a bittersweet wonder about that last walk into the sunset, whereas finding out that Dick Butkus went on to forgettable TV roles as himself and that Sonny Jurgensen went on to spend the rest of his days commenting on the efforts of lesser mortals somehow gives our demi gods feet of clay. Whatever happened to Washington Redskins great running back Larry Brown? He played down after down in George Allen's run oriented offense of the early 70's, hammering holes in the defensive lines of fine defensive units like that of the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. By the fourth quarter he would be having an increasingly hard time getting up - but somehow he always did. He was unselfish in his self sacrifice for the team and inspired others like fellow back Charlie Harraway to do the same. Harraway is supposed to have been one of the best backfield blockers of the early 1970's. By the 2nd quarter, Brown and Harraway had the defense focusing on the run, freeing Jurgensen or Kilmer to reach Jerry Smith or Larry himself to catch a short but sure one as blitzing linebackers left huge holes in Allen's beloved 'flat'. Once in a while Allen even recognized both the decade and the unrealized talent of wideouts Roy Jefferson and Charlie Taylor, and then the opponents really had no chance. I often wonder how Brown's per game rushing yardage was distributed, quarter by quarter. Was he pretty much dead and gone by the 4th quarter, or was it the defensive front line that was bruised and battered, facilitating ever bigger yardage bites for the Brown/Harraway tandem. Harraway eventuall surrendered to the blandishments of the upstart World Football League and the chance to be one of their team's #1 running back. I am not sure, but I think neither Brown nor Harraway were ever great again. But nothing, no reduced production, no ever longer struggles to rise up again, can ever reduce the magnificence of Larry Brown. I wish I could remember what Vince Lombardi said about Brown - something about 'oh, he'll get up. He'll always get up. The great ones always do.' I think Larry wrote a book at the end of his great career with those words dominating the title. Paul Simon wrote a song once pleading to know where Joltin' Joe had gone. He later admitted the choice of athlete had more to do with the number of syllables in his name. Heck, the question was a puzzle. We all knew where the great Dimaggio had gone. He married America's goddess of beauty and desire and then divorced her when he realized that from then on she would be getting all the attention. So he made Mr. Coffee commercials and found time to get annoyed with Paul Simon's question. He was a sure artist on the field but ghost off of it. No, I never wondered where Joltin' Joe had gone. But where did Larry Brown go, what streets and fields did he roam after he got up that last time? Does he know that 30 years after he hung up his cleats for the last time his example still lights the way for so many of us? Eternal Redskins fan. Thanx Larry Charlie Harraway Sonny Billy Manny Pardee Hanburger Mulkee Riggo Doug George Gibbs Darryl Green Charlie Taylor Roy Jefferson Clint Didier Art Monk Kurt Knight Kenny Houston Butz Hogs Downton Charlie Brown Pat Fischer Theisman Vince Lombardi for changing our image
[edit] WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as stub, and the rating on other projects was brought up to Stub class. BetacommandBot 15:49, 9 November 2007 (UTC)