Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State only 71 days away
To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.
This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football.
With 71 days remaining until kickoff, today we look at the successful football career and the tragic death of former Irish offensive tackle Dean Brown.
Brown wore No. 71 as a standout Irish player from 1986-89 and as a starter on the 1988 national championship team.
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Gone too soon
The plan remains to keep these countdown stories positive and upbeat.
And the former Irish stars who wore No. 71 such as future NFL offensive linemen Alex Bars (2014-18), Phil Pozderac (1978-81), and Jerry Wisne (1995-98), as well as first-round NFL defensive lineman Eric Dorsey (1982-85), were all good profile candidates.
But the story of Brown — a mountain of a 330-pound man known as “Big Happy” — and the impact he made on those around him before he died 10 years ago at age 44 is worth revisiting.
In his gregarious, exuberant and booming way, Brown never missed a chance back in the day to fondly deliver a “love y’all!” message to his teammates. It’s what made him so beloved among his coaches and peers.
Brown won a title at Notre Dame in 1988, graduated, enjoyed a brief NFL career and was working as the principal of a rough Cleveland high school in 2012 when the unthinkable happened.
A loving husband and father of two daughters aged 12 and 14, Brown woke up the morning of his passing with some minor breathing difficulty.
An ambulance was called, antibiotics should do the trick.
And with his brother, Mike, on the phone during the EMS ride to Cleveland Clinic, the siblings made plans to attend the 2012 National Championship game between Notre Dame and Alabama in a few weeks.
Within hours, Dean Brown was gone. He died of a pulmonary blood clot in the hospital after collapsing while doctors checked his oxygen level during a walk around the emergency room.
Brown’s death hit the ND football family hard and galvanized the 1988 National Championship team.
Upon Brown’s passing, much of the group gathered to celebrate a life lost too soon.
“Certain people you know make you smile, not everybody does,” said former Irish linebacker Ned Bolcar in a Chicago Tribune story. “Dean, the thought of him even now, makes me smile.”
More than football
As fondly as Brown is still remembered for his buoyant personality as a teammate, his work beyond football is equally memorable.
Wanting to help lower-income, at-risk youth, Brown took a job as dean of students at Friendship Public Charter School in inner-city Washington D.C. and worked there for about a decade before taking the principal position closer to home in Cleveland.
In addition to his Monday-Friday work with kids, Dean along with his brother were also planning to start a Saturday school for boys to provide even more guidance and some big smiles to troubled youth.
After all, big smiles were Big Happy’s thing. They were who he was.
