Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 7, 2026 59 that allowed only 11.6 points per game in rolling to an 11-1 record and another national championship. He won the Lombardi Trophy as the nation's best lineman and the Maxwell Award as the nation's best player and again won the UPI Lineman of the Year Award, be- coming the only player ever to win it twice. He also placed fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Browner was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which called him "Notre Dame's Peerless Ross Browner." "Ross had all the tools — size, agility, speed and toughness," offensive back- field coach Tom Pagna recalled. "He was a prototype defensive end." Browner's career Notre Dame sta- tistics included 340 tackles, 77 tackles for loss, 10 deflected passes, 12 fum- ble recoveries and 2 blocked kicks. He also scored a touchdown and recorded 2 safeties. His 340 tackles was then a school record (and is now No. 8 on the all-time career list), while his 77 tackles for loss are still the most for an Irish player. His 28 tackles for loss in 1976 marks a single-season school record. In 1999, Browner's Notre Dame ca- reer was recognized with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. That same year, he was named to the Walter Camp Foundation's All-Century Team. Ross was the oldest of six brothers who were high school football stars in Ohio. Three others — Jim Browner, Keith Browner and Joey Browner — followed Ross to the NFL. Jim, a running back turned strong safety, was a teammate on Notre Dame's 1977 champions, as was brother Willard, a reserve fullback. Keith and Joey played for rival Southern Cal. "That was a great thrill to be able to play alongside my brothers at Notre Dame," Browner said. "I was very proud of my brothers, especially since I was the oldest." In fact, it was love of family that helped Browner land at Notre Dame. He grew up watching the Sunday tape-de- lay broadcasts of Irish football featuring legendary announcer Lindsey Nelson. "I knew they could see me play every week," Browner said of his family. He was the first-round draft pick in the 1978 NFL Draft for the Cincinnati Bengals. Voted the team's Most Valuable Player in 1978, he played nine seasons for the Bengals. Browner set the Super Bowl record for tackles by a defensive lineman in Super Bowl XVI with 10 in the Bengals' 26-21 loss to the 49ers. He also recorded the only sack of Joe Montana in that game. Browner played a final NFL season with the Green Bay Packers in 1987 before re- tiring from football. He operated several businesses in Ohio and Nashville, Tenn. He died of complications from COVID-19 on Jan. 4, 2022, at the age of 67. ✦ Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jim@ndfootballhistory.com SUPPORT THE Knute Rockne Knute Rockne Memorial Society! Since 2017, the non-profit Knute Rockne Memorial Society has been promoting and preserving the life and legacy of the great Notre Dame coach and national celebrity. Please consider helping us do this important work recognizing those who exhibit the traits of Rockne. Your tax-deductible donation helps make it possible. PLEASE VISIT: www.RockneSociety.org One-Man Wrecking Crew: Ross Browner's Year-By- Year Stats At Notre Dame Year Tackles TFL Sacks 1973 68 15 10 1975 71 16 6.5 1976 97 28 14.5 1977 104 18 12 Totals 340 77 43