Lions great Roger Brown, member of 'Fearsome Foursome' line, dies at 84

Roger Brown, a member of the Lions’ “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line in the 1960s, died Friday, the team announced. He was 84.

Brown, a defensive tackle, spent the first seven seasons of his 10-year NFL career in Detroit after the Lions drafted the Maryland-Eastern Shore product in the fourth round in 1960.

He earned back-to-back All-Pro honors in 1962-63 and earned five consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 1962-66, the last coming with the Los Angeles Rams, with whom he spent his final three seasons.

On Thanksgiving in 1962, Brown helped the Lions' defense set a single-game franchise record, recording seven of the team’s 11 sacks against Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr.

“Roger Brown will always hold a special place in our team’s history,” Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp said in a statement. “Roger’s career accomplishments solidify his legacy alongside some of the all-time greats of our game. … We are deeply saddened to learn of his passing, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Kay, and the entire Brown family.”

Brown was inducted into the Pride of the Lions in 2018, the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2015, the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.