November 17, 2016

Highlighted Year: Larry Brown, 1970

Halfback, Washington Redskins



Age: 23 (Sept. 19)
2nd season in pro football & with Redskins
College: Kansas State
Height: 5’11” Weight: 195

Prelude:
Brown played two seasons at Kansas State after transferring from Dodge City Junior College and had an undistinguished career, rushing for 684 yards and catching 13 passes. An eighth round pick by the Redskins in the 1969 NFL draft, Brown led the team in rushing as a rookie with 888 yards on 202 carries (4.4 avg.) and caught 34 passes for another 302 yards. He was selected to the Pro Bowl.

1970 Season Summary
Appeared in 13 of 14 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing
Attempts – 237 [2]
Most attempts, game – 27 (for 110 yds.) at Philadelphia 10/4
Yards – 1125 [1]
Most yards, game – 139 yards (on 17 carries) vs. NY Giants 11/29
Average gain – 4.7 [3]
TDs – 5 [13, tied with eleven others]
100-yard rushing games – 6

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 37      
Most receptions, game – 9 (for 76 yds.) at Oakland 10/19
Yards – 341
Most yards, game – 76 (on 9 catches) at Oakland 10/19
Average gain – 9.2
TDs – 2

Scoring
TDs – 7 [18, tied with nine others]
Points – 42

Awards & Honors:
1st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, NEA, Pro Football Weekly
1st team All-NFC: AP, UPI, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News
Pro Bowl

Redskins went 6-8 to finish fourth in the NFC East.

Aftermath:
Brown’s production dropped off to 948 yards in 1971 as defenses keyed on him, but he was selected to a third Pro Bowl and received consensus first-team All-NFC recognition. He was the consensus league MVP in ’72 as he led the NFC in rushing with 1216 yards and the Redskins reached the Super Bowl. Brown ran for 860 yards and caught 40 passes in 1973, but the workhorse runner began to show signs of wear in ’74 and totaled just 838 yards over the last three seasons of a career spent entirely with Washington that ended in 1976. Overall, he rushed for 5875 yards on 1530 attempts (3.8 avg.) and caught 238 passes for 2485 yards (10.4 avg.) while scoring a total of 55 touchdowns. Brown was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection twice, received first-team All-NFC honors after one other season, and was selected to four Pro Bowls.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose: Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff Returns: Average
Punt Returns: Average
Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970