On December 7 1987 1987 Heisman winner Tim Brown
Graduates of Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas like to boast that their alma mater is the only school in the city known by its first name. Woodrow Wilson is also the only public school in the country that has produced two Heisman Trophy candidates: Texas Christian University quarterback Sammy Baugh in 1938 and Notre Dame wide receiver Tim Brown in 1987. Brown did a little bit of everything while playing at Woodrow Wilson. A 1984 graduate of the school, Brown joined the freshman team without his mother knowing (his father signed the permission slip; his mother believed her son was playing bass drum in the marching band). Brown played nearly every position at Woodrow Wilson, but his teams won only four games during his entire high school career. Located in a lower-middle class section of south Dallas, Woodrow Wilson had a high enrollment of Hispanic students. More students tried out for the school’s soccer team than the football squad. During Brown’s senior season, he had only 19 teammates. Brown became Notre Dame’s seventh Heisman Trophy winner in 1987, averaging 21.7 yards per reception and returning three punts for touchdowns. He was only the third wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy after beating out Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson for the award. “Being a young kid in south Dallas growing up, you loved playing football,” Brown said Tuesday, at a National Football Foundation news conference. “You dreamed of a lot of things. But when I left Dallas in 1984, the last thing I would have thought about was winning the Heisman Trophy and ending up in the College Football Hall of Fame. So for all the kids out there who look at Tim Brown, you know, miracles, dreams absolutely do come true if you do the right thing.” Given its rich history, there might be another Heisman Trophy winner at Woodrow Wilson High.
— Mark Schlabach
Sources:
About The Author
