Tom Brown Dies at 84, Won 2 Super Bowls with Packers and Played in MLB

The Green Bay Packers announced former safety Tom Brown died on Wednesday at the age of 84.

Brown spent his first five seasons in Green Bay before playing one year for the Washington Commanders. In addition to his career on the gridiron, the Maryland native made 61 appearances for the Washington Senators during the 1963 MLB season.

Brown played football and baseball collegiately at the University of Maryland, and the school noted he was the first athlete ever to win a Super Bowl and hit a home run in an MLB game.

The Buffalo Bills selected Brown in the third round of the 1963 AFL draft, while the Packers picked him in the second round of the NFL draft that same year.

According to Packers historian Cliff Christl, Brown said he initially preferred baseball, and Green Bay indirectly played a role in his mindset. He attended the 1962 NFL championship between the Packers and New York Giants, which the former won amid frigid conditions at Yankee Stadium.

"It was a cold, windy, nasty day. The field was frozen," Brown recalled in 2009. "I went in the locker room and I said, 'These guys are big. I'm going to play baseball.'"

However, he subsequently saw the writing on the wall after hitting .147 with the Senators.

"I think I could probably have played major league ball, but not as a starter; probably as a utility player," Brown said. "But I had the opportunity to play with the Packers and I took that opportunity."

Ditching baseball for football proved to be a smart decision. He was a regular starter for the Packers when they claimed an NFL title in 1965 and then won the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967.