Jimmie L. Browner Jr., a former football player who had previously played for Warren Western Reserve and later went on to play collegiate football at Notre Dame and, shortly after that, for the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League, passed away on March 6 just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. He aged to 68.
In a statement released on Friday, one of Jimmie’s surviving brothers, Keith, and Steve Arnold, a former football coach at Warren G. Harding, revealed that Jimmie had passed away. Arnold stated that the Browner family has always been very supportive of him in his role as a coach. The previous year, Jim called me and offered me words of encouragement over the phone. When it comes to football, there is no other group of brothers that have achieved as much success as they have.
Jimmie was a member of the Warren Western Reserve football team that won the state championship in 1972 and the state runner-up squad that won the state championship in 1973 but was defeated by the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals, who were coached by the late renowned Don Bucci.
Jimmie was born in Warren on December 4, 1955. Following his graduation from WWR, Jimmie went on to a four-year career as a player at Notre Dame. He rushed for 394 yards and two touchdowns while playing running back for the Fighting Irish as a freshman. Jimmie was a member of the Fighting Irish. After that, he switched positions and played defensive back for the next three seasons of his time at South Bend.
It was during his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons that he started all eleven games, and he finished with five interceptions during those three seasons. He also participated in the role of a kick returner during his junior year, during which he returned eight kicks for an average of 16.6 yards per return.
Jimmy was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 12th round of the 1979 NFL Draft, which was the 304th overall pick. Jimmie was selected by the Bengals. He was a kick returner and a defensive back with the Bengals during his two seasons with the team, during which he participated in a total of 18 playing games. At the end of the season, he finished with one interception and two forced fumbles. He started six games. There were eight kicks that he returned as a return man, and he averaged 12.1 yards per kick return.
In January of 2022, Jimmie’s older brother Ross passed away as a result of problems related to COVID-19. In the course of his stint with the Bengals, Jimmie shared the field with Ross for one season. Keith and Joey, two of Jimmie’s other brothers, were also active players in the National Football League.
