“RIP”: Lombardi-Era Packers Legend Who Also Played in MLB Passes Away, Green Bay Side & Fans Pay Tribute

“Lucky enough to play in the Major Leagues for about one hundred and some days. That was a great experience. But that December (’63), Lombardi called me up and said, ‘Brown.’ I said, ‘Yes, Coach.’ He said, ‘We’re still interested in you and playing football, but you can’t sit out another year.'”

That’s how Tom Brown — the man who made history in two sports — remembered the life-changing phone call from Vince Lombardi during a 2021 interview on Delmarva Life’s Monday Memories. No frills, no dramatics. Just straight-up Tom: humble, sharp, and very aware of the once-in-a-lifetime ride he had lived. Now, the Packers world is tipping its cap and taking a knee for the legend who passed away last Wednesday, April 23, at 84 years old in Salisbury, Maryland.

Before he was making game-saving picks for the Lombardi-era Packers, Brown was a big-league dreamer with a bat in his hands. Born December 12, 1940, in Laureldale, Pennsylvania, he cracked the Washington Senators’ roster at just 22. Spring training? He hit .312 — pretty good if you ask anyone who’s tried to square up major league pitching. But once the regular season hit, Brown’s bat cooled off faster than Lambeau in December. After bouncing between the Senators and the minors, Brown knew something had to give. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t going to be Vince Lombardi’s patience.

“I’d been drafted by the Green Bay Packers in February of ’63. I wanted to play baseball,” Brown recalled. But when Lombardi called again — that firm, unmistakable voice offering one more shot at the gridiron — it was decision time. By mid-1964, Brown signed with the Packers. Coaches toyed with his position like a new Madden roster: flanker, cornerback, then finally — safety. Once he settled in, the man didn’t just play; he owned the backfield like it was a frozen fortress.

You want receipts? How about this: Brown started almost every game for Green Bay from 1965 through 1968, grabbing a firm seat during their NFL championship three-peat and two Super Bowl wins. But the real moment Packers fans will always shout from the rooftops? Brown’s clutch interception in the dying seconds of the 1966 NFL title game against Dallas, sealing a 34-27 win. Not bad for a guy who once thought he’d be a “utility guy” in baseball. Ice in his veins? Brown had it before it was a meme.

By 1969, Brown found himself traded to Washington for a fifth-round pick, reuniting with Lombardi one last time. Unfortunately, that chapter didn’t last long — just one more game before Brown decided to hang ’em up for good. “I loved baseball. It was my favorite sport,” he said during a 2009 sit-down, explaining how football had initially been just a way to snag a scholarship. But life had other plans. And luckily for the Packers, so did Lombardi.

Today, the football world remembers Tom Brown as more than just a “player.” He was a gamer. A guy who showed up, punched the clock, and changed outcomes when it mattered most. Baseball may have been his first love, but Green Bay became his lasting legacy. Rest easy, Tom. Heaven just got itself a two-sport star — and maybe, just maybe, Lombardi’s waiting with another play call.

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