Larry Brown was inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor as a member of the Class of 2019.
It almost seems to be a commentary on what Chuck Noll thought of both positions. The move of Larry Brown from tight end to offensive tackle showed what attributes Noll valued from the guys who played both positions. He wanted tight ends who could block, and he wanted offensive tackles who were athletic. After being a fifth-round pick out of Kansas in 1971, Brown played 14 seasons with the Steelers, the first seven at tight end and the last seven as a right tackle. Franco Harris ran for 1,000 yards in four of Brown's seven seasons as the right tackle, and was 13 yards short in a fifth. The play of the Steelers tackles (Brown and Jon Kolb) vs. the Los Angeles Rams defensive ends (Fred Dryer and Jack Youngblood) was a critical part of Pittsburgh's come-from-behind win in Super Bowl XIV. The only men in franchise history to play more seasons with the team than Brown's 14 are Mike Webster and Ben Roethlisberger, both at 15, and Brown appeared in 167 career regular season games, with 121 of those being starts. Brown was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1982.
