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USC football countdown to kickoff—Booker Brown in focus
The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 63 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. There are not a ton of recent options for the number 63, so today, we take it way back to the early 1970s and look at former USC All-American offensive lineman Booker Brown.
Position: Offensive line
Years played at USC: 1972-1973
Career highlights: After spending the first two years of his college career at the junior college level, Brown transferred to USC in 1972. Although he did not begin the season as a starter, injuries on the offensive line forced him into the starting lineup, where he thrived. The 1972 Trojans would go on to win the national championship, putting together one of the greatest seasons in college football history. As a senior the following year, Brown earned consensus first-team All-America honors.
After USC: Although the Houston Oilers selected Brown in the sixth round of the 1974 NFL draft, he instead elected to sign with the Southern California Sun of the new World Football League (WFL), who took him in the third round of the league's draft. However, the WFL shut down after less than two years, leading Brown to move to the NFL in 1975. He spent three seasons with the San Diego Chargers, who had acquired his rights from Houston in a trade.
In 1978, Brown was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reuniting him with John McKay, his head coach from his time at USC. However, he never played in a regular season game for the team, as he missed the entire 1978 season due to an injury and was released prior to the start of the 1979 campaign.
Brown passed away in 2022 at the age of 69.
