Super Bowl XXVII : THROUGH THE YEARS : Footnotes To History : XI : WILLIE BROWN : OAKLAND RAIDERS

The truth is out. Willie Brown, now a coach, earned a place in Super Bowl history by doing something that his players should never do.

He pulled off a record 75-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Vikings while playing out of position .

Brown’s pick-and-run with 5:43 remaining in Super Bowl XI iced a 32-14 victory that gave the Raiders their first NFL championship while handing the Vikings their record fourth Super Bowl loss.

“Actually Ted Hendricks should have been where I was,” acknowledged Brown, former coach of the disbanded Cal State Long Beach team and current Raider assistant. “But sometimes when you see certain things happening, you have to make changes.”

Brown, a Hall of Fame cornerback, said he saw those things while playing in the deep third of a zone defense against struggling Fran Tarkenton. He figured Tarkenton would be looking for a short pass, so he moved in.

“I shouted at Jack Tatum to watch out for me, then I took off,” Brown said. “Sammy White ran a quick hook outside and I stepped in front of him and grabbed the ball.”

Brown said he will never forget the feeling of running down the sideline knowing that only one person could catch him. “And that was the referee,” he said.

Not knowing that he had set a Super Bowl record, but certain that he had just finished off the Vikings, Brown carried the ball to the sideline and eventually took it home. It is on display in his house, along with a more ripe souvenir.

“I still have my jersey from that game, and I never even washed it,” Brown said.

Because of the increasing unwillingness of defensive backs to take such chances, Brown’s record could last for the next 15 years.

Because of that interception, hardly a day passes when Brown is not reminded that it is no longer his game.

“Around this time of the year, the college kids are always saying, ‘Hey Coach Brown, we saw you on television,’ ” Brown said. “They make sure I’ll never forget it.”

* 1977 AT ROSE BOWL

Oakland 0 16 3 13 -- 32 Minnesota 0 0 7 7 -- 14

Oak--FG Mann 24

Oak--Casper 1 pass from Stabler (Mann kick)

Oak--Banaszak 1 run (kick failed)

Oak--FG Mann 40

Min--S. White 8 pass from Tarkenton (Cox kick)

Oak--Banaszak 2 run (Mann kick)

Oak--Brown 75 interception return (kick failed)

Min--Voigt 13 pass from Lee (Cox kick)

A--103,438

Winning Coach--John Madden

MVP--Fred Biletnikoff