Tim Brown

Before his college career at Notre Dame, Brown played for Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, the same school as 1938 Heisman Trophy winner Davey O'Brien.

Timothy Donell Brown (born July 22, 1966) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first wide receiver to do so.

He spent sixteen years with the Los Angeles / Oakland Raiders, during which he established himself as one of the NFL's greatest wide receivers of all time.

Brown has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brown chose the University of Notre Dame and played there from 1984–1987, earning the nickname "Touchdown Timmy."

In his first year, he set a freshman record with twenty-eight receptions.

As a junior, he set a record with 1,937 all-purpose yards.

Brown's receipt of the 1987 Heisman Trophy gave Woodrow the distinction of being the first high school in the country to have produced two Heisman Trophy winners.

Amazingly, Tim didn’t play football as a freshman at Woodrow, because he was forbidden to do so by his mother.

Instead, he played in the Woodrow band during that first year.

But he joined the Woodrow football team as a sophomore, although he initially tried to hide that fact from his mom.

She later found out about it when the band leader called his house asking why he was no longer at band practices.

Despite his outstanding contributions to Woodrow's football program, the team fared poorly, posting only a 4–25–1 record over his three years as a starter.

Nevertheless, Brown was heavily recruited by major colleges.

His five official visits were to Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oklahoma, nearby SMU and Iowa.

While at Woodrow, Brown also was a standout track athlete.

He was one of the state's top performers in the 400-meter dash, with a PR of 47.14 seconds, and he cleared 7.42 meters in the long jump event.

Offensively he ran for 254 yards with 2 TD and caught 45 passes for 910 yards with 5 TD. During 1987, Brown caught 34 passes for 846 yards, returned 34 punts for 401 yards, rushed for 144 yards, gained 456 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and scored eight touchdowns.

Brown finished his career at Notre Dame with 137 receptions for 2,493 yards, a school-record 5,024 all-purpose yards, and 22 touchdowns.

However, just as in high school, Brown's team achieved limited success, with a 25–21 record over his four seasons, and an 0–2 record in bowl games.

Brown was named an All-American twice and won the 1987 Heisman Trophy, becoming the first wide receiver ever to win that award.

But in the year after Brown graduated (1988), Notre Dame won the national title.

Brown was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders in the first round with the sixth overall pick of the 1988 NFL draft.

In his first NFL season, he led the league in kickoff returns, return yards, and yards per return average.

He was voted to the Pro Bowl nine times, in 1988 and 1991 as a kick returner, and in 1993-97, 1999 and 2001 as a receiver.

In 1989, Brown and Davey O'Brien were inducted together as members of the initial class of the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame, created in celebration of the school's 60th Anniversary.

Though it took time for him to fill into the role as the team's #1 receiver, catching just 147 passes in his first five seasons, he went on to rack up 9 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 1993-2001.

He also led the NFL in punt returns in 1994, and receptions in 1997.

In March 1994, Brown was offered and signed a free-agent offer-sheet with the Denver Broncos.

The Raiders matched the offer soon thereafter.

In 2001, Brown would later play alongside another well-known wide receiver, Jerry Rice.

On December 9, 2001, Brown returned a punt 88 yards for a touchdown in a home game against the Kansas City Chiefs, making him the oldest player in NFL history to score a touchdown on a punt return.

In 2002, he passed Gene Upshaw to become the Raiders' all-time leader in games played with 224.

In 2009, Brown was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

In January 2012, Brown received the Silver Anniversary Award from the NCAA in recognition of his myriad athletic and professional accomplishments.

In 2015, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

As of 2023, Brown serves as the league chairman and commissioner of The Arena League, an upcoming football league set to begin play in 2024.

As of 2020, Woodrow Wilson High School is still the only public high school with two Heisman Trophy winners.

When Brown graduated, he held 19 individual school records.