Tag Archives: eddie brown

Arena, CFL, NFLE

Brown, Eddie ‘Downtown’ (Iowa St)

Wild Card World League 1992, #52

CARD: Wildcard World League 1992
ACQUIRED: EBay, 2023
FAILURE: TTM 2020, C/o Work

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Eddie Brown played WR at Iowa State where he racked up 27 catches for 562 yards and 5 TDs in 22 contests.
  • Undrafted he’d play in the CFL in 1990 and ’91 as an import player for the Stamps and the Rough Riders.
  • In 1992 he took his game to the Sacramento Surge of the World League, where he led the league in receiving and set records for yards in a season.
  • After the Surge won World Bowl II and the World League went on hiatus, Brown went right back to the CFL playing for the Argos that year but not seeing the field.
  • It was with the Esks that Eddie really found a home and hit his stride, playing with the team from 1993-’95.
  • He pounded out back to back 1000+ yard seasons, including a career high 1,378 yards and 15 TDs in ’93, and a career high 79 catches in ’94.
  • As part of the CFLUSA invasion in ’95, he’d split his time with the Memphis Mad Dogs and the Esks that year.
  • In ’96 he returned to Edmonton for another 2 year stint.
  • He’d return to form that season with another 70 cathces for 1,325 yards and 7 TDs.
  • He’d also go down in Grey Cup and CFL lore for making an incredible, juggling catch for a TD in a snow covered stadium during the ’96 contest.
  • After a small stint with the Alouettes in ’98, Eddie saw a renaissance of sorts playing out on the left coast with BC through ’99.
  • Downtown took his game to the Arena Football League, playing one year with the Iowa Barnstormers in 2000 catching 11 TDs on 39 receptions.
  • By the end of the year he was back in the CFL playing for Toronto.
  • A small hiatus in 2001, led him back to Renegades for his final season in 2002.
  • Infamously walked off during a game, frustrated with the team’s lack of focus on getting into the playoffs and never looked back.
  • Has been a positional coach in the Ottawa area for almost 10 years.

ACCOLADES:

  • All World League 1991
  • CFL All-Star 1996
  • CFL West All-Star 1996, ’99

NOTES:

I had been eyeballing this card for a few years on EBay and decided to lowball offer the seller. To my surprise he accepted- and Eddie Brown was soon to be mine. I’m not a big fan of ball point pen autographs but I can’t complain since the last time I sent to him I basically overpaid and flushed Canadian postage down the toilet.

Eddie ‘Downtown’ Brown, is not to be confused with Eddie ‘Touchdown’ Brown- former Arena football star and father to former NFL receiver Antonio Brown. He is also not to be confused with former Bengals WR Eddie ‘Downtown’ Brown either.

RECYDSAVGTDLG
532866316.36078
CFL
RECYDSAVGTDLG
48101121.11280t
WL
RECYDSAVGTDLG
3969817.911N/a
Arena
NFL

Brown, Eddie (U MIA-FL)

Cards: Topps 1990, Topps Stadium Club 1991
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 10/9    Received: 12/16    (68 days)
Failure: TTM 2011, C/o Home

Eddie Brown played for the Miami Hurricanes. A two year starter in 1983 and 1984, he posted 89 receptions for 1754 yards (19.7 yards per reception) and 14 TDs. Gifted with a great skillset of speed and hands, Brown was selected with the 13th pick overall in the 1985 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.  This draft is known for its incredibly strong wide receiver pool, which included notables such as: Jerry Rice, Andre Reed, Al Toon, Jessie Hester, Vance Johnson, Reggie Langhorne, Emile Harry, Eric Martin, and Willie Drewery.

Despite putting up solid numbers for the Bengals, Brown has always been mistreated by fans and the media outside of Cincinnati- as he was selected 3 picks before Jerry Rice. Still early on the Bengals looked like the winners as Eddie won the NFL Rookie of the Year Award, after he caught 53 passes for 942 yards and 8 TDs.  His best season came in 1988 when Eddie had a career high 53 receptions for 1,273 yards and 9 TDs- earning him his one and only Pro Bowl appearance.  (His single season 24 yards per reception average set an NFL record that still stands today.) For most of his career, Eddie’s numbers middled around 800 to 900 yards. He got really beat up over his career and retired after the 1991 season. Eddie teamed up with Tim McGee and QB Boomer Esiason and gave the Houston Oilers continual fits.

Eddie has had lingering injuries since retirement. Alarmingly, he has not been able to turn his neck since 1992 thanks in part possibly from a herniated cervical disc. He was kind enough however to sign these two cards for me, since I could find neither the ProSet 1990 or the Action Packed 1991 that I wanted to send. The Topps 1990 card is one of those oddballs. It’s a great photo of Brown- even if he’s not making the catch. Stadium Club was Topps attempt to create a premium line to keep up with the ProSets and Scores of the world. The strategy worked, and all the other brands established their own parallel premium brands to keep pace.

G/GS 102/99     REC 363    YDS  6134    AVG 16.9    TD 41   LG 86t