So Cal's All-Time Roster: No. 81
No. 81:
Our pick:
==Tim Brown, Raiders ('88-'95, continued wearing number in Oakland through '03)
The Heisman Trophy winner out of Notre Dame -- and the first wide receiver to win it, although it was baded on his all-around ability -- was the L.A. Raiders' sixth-overall pick in the '88 draft, and left as the franchise's all-time leader in games played -- 240 -- and was the last of the Raiders of L.A. to remain an active player. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection retired as a Raider with 14,934 receiving yards, the second-highest total in NFL history, 1,094 receptions (third all time), and 100 touchdown catches (tied for third). He also had 3,320 punt-return yards and 1,235 yards returning kickoffs. His grand total of 19,682 combined net yards put him No. 5 on the all-time NFL list.
He's still nicknamed "Mr. Raider" by those in the organization where he had 1,070 catches for 14,734 yards and 99 touchdowns.
During a Q-and-A with the Raiders website, Brown was asked about a career that began in L.A. instead of Atlanta, which had the first overall pick in '88: "Well, to be honest with you, at that particular time I was looking for the best team for Tim Brown to play for. After not being picked first by the Atlanta Falcons, we looked down the list at the next nine teams and we thought that the best team for me to play for was the Raiders, because of the roster that they already had and it worked out great. I don’t know what my agent said to those four teams in between, but some kind of way he got me to the Raiders pick."
Runner up:
==Dick “Night Train” Lane, Rams (1952-'53)
In 1952, the 24-year-old showed up at the Rams training camp looking for a job because he disliked his occupation at an aircraft factory. He got the nickname "Night Train" from a hit record by Buddy Morrow frequently played by teammate Tom Fears. No. 81 was unusual for a defensive back, because he was initially projected as an end, except he couldn't get time from Fears and Elroy Hirsch, so he was moved to defensive back.
In his rookie season he set an NFL single season record for interceptions with 14, which stands to this day. Then the Rams traded him to Chicago, and then to Detroit where he really made his Hall of Fame career, where he had 68 career interceptions. Call his departure from the Rams the worst pre-Piazza deal in L.A. history.
==Other No. 81s:
==Ron Jessie, Rams ('75-'79)
==Don Hardy, USC football ('43-'44,'46)
Sports Illustrated's pick for the all-time No. 81: Brown, over Lane and Art Monk.
Did we miss anyone?
You've got our vote, now let's see yours: