RaiderBeat.com Staff Report

Legendary cornerback Willie Brown always was a man of few words and someone who let his play speak for him. On Wednesday, Brown exited the NFL with little fanfare and few words, telling a handful of TV reporters at the Raiders headquarters in Alameda, Calif., simply, “I’m retiring.”

Brown issued his surprising announcement without warning, as he drove away and with onlookers left to ponder what it all means.

In the scheme of the Raiders long-term plans, not much. Brown spent the past 15 years as an assistant defensive backs coach and the director of squad development. The Raiders won’t have much difficulty filling the void. However, it’s going to take some doing to find someone to match Brown’s on-field accomplishments.

From 1967-78, Brown almost perfected the art of bump-and-run coverage in the day when cornerbacks were allowed to be far more physical with receivers than they are these days. As a result, Brown had few passes thrown his way, and he left the game as one of the all-time greats.

For his deeds, Brown was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984. Overall, he spent 39 years with the Raiders as a player and a coach.

“Willie shall be remembered as one of the, if not the, greatest Raider players of all time,” Raiders chief executive Amy Trask told the Oakland Tribune. “We will honor Willie in the coming months.”

Brown, 69, entered the pros as an undrafted free agent out of Grambling State in 1963. He was traded from the Denver Broncos to the Raiders after his fourth season. For that, Raiders managing general partner Al Davis gets credit for one of the all-time heists in league history — the Raiders played in the American Football League at the time.

Brown is best remembered for picking off a Fran Tarkenton pass in Super Bowl XI and returning it 75 yards for a touchdown in the first of Oakland’s three Super Bowl victories, this one over the Minnesota Vikings in the 1976 season.

Former Raiders play-by-play announcer Bill King punctuated his call of Brown’s interception return by saying, “Old Man Willie.”