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O.J. Brigance, Ravens Super Bowl Champion and ALS Advocate, Dies at 56

His death highlights a two-decade role mentoring players, the Brigance Brigade Foundation’s work for people with ALS, the rare dual CFL and Super Bowl championships he won for Baltimore

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O.J. Brigance was an unlikely Rice football success story after getting just one Division I offer out of high school and was an inspirational NFL figure in Baltimore.
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Overview

  • The Baltimore Ravens announced Monday that O.J. Brigance died at 56 after a 19-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, saying he was a beloved mentor and franchise figure.
  • Brigance won a Grey Cup with the CFL’s Baltimore Stallions in 1995 and made the first tackle in the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV victory, giving him the unusual distinction of winning both championships for teams in the same city.
  • After his seven-season playing career ended in 2002, Brigance returned to the Ravens in 2004 as a senior adviser for player engagement and continued working with players from a wheelchair using speech‑generation technology.
  • Following his 2007 ALS diagnosis, he and his wife, Chanda, founded the Brigance Brigade Foundation to supply equipment, services and financial support to people living with ALS and to raise public awareness.
  • Team leaders, former coaches and players issued tributes describing his lasting influence on Baltimore and the NFL, and his long survival with ALS has drawn attention to the disease’s impact on players and ongoing support needs for those affected.