Willowridge, Rice football star O.J. Brigance celebrated by teammates, friends in emotional service
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PEARLAND - About 500 people filled Silverlake Church, just nine miles from where O.J. Brigance was a star student and football player at Willowridge High School, for a nearly two-hour service of praise and celebration, honoring the life of the former Rice and NFL player Tuesday.
Brigance, who was Rice's all-time leading tackler before going on to play seven seasons in the NFL, died at 56 years old in August after a 19-year battle with ALS. The disease kept Brigance in a wheelchair and forced him to use speech-generating devices to communicate, even while working in the Baltimore Ravens' front office up until his death. Although there certainly were some tears shed, Chanda Minor Brigance, who met O.J. when he was at Rice and was married to him for 32 years, including caring for him right up to his passing, said she wanted Tuesday to be a joyous occasion.
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"Come on now, people, this is a celebration," said Minor Brigance, who was given a standing ovation before she got up to speak at the front of the church. "O.J. is no longer sick. He's no longer on those machines. Let's celebrate. God is good. God is amazing. O.J. is not with us. One day we will be with him. O.J. is happy. How about you?"
Although there were about 40 college teammates of Brigance in the crowd, there was just as much talk about his contributions to the world after his playing career was finished, including forming the Brigance Brigade Foundation to help people and families dealing with ALS. Minor Brigance said the foundation will continue its work.
The eulogy from Bobby D. Hamilton, the pastor at Sugar Land's Friendship Community Bible Church and a cousin of Brigance, frequently referred to Brigance by his nickname "Juice."
"I came to tell you what excites me about Juice ain't simply his football. There are lines of football players who have lived and played ball," Hamilton said. "What excites me is the glory of God. Juice reached more people on wheels than he did when he was walking."
As a player, Brigance was an undersized center at Willowridge, where he graduated in the top 3% of his class. He went on to start three years at linebacker for the Owls, twice earning All-Southwest Conference honors, making a school-record 367 tackles, but it was one tackle officials ruled he didn't make that still stands out to Donald Bowers, who played linebacker alongside Brigance and is now a member of the Rice board of trustees.
In 1989, the Owls were on the verge of pulling off an upset of the Texas Longhorns in Austin. Trailing 30-24 and facing a 4th-and-goal from the 4-yard line in the game's final minutes, Texas' Peter Gardere broke for the end zone, but was met by Brigance, who appeared to get the freshman quarterback on the ground before he scored. Instead, officials ruled Gardere had stretched the ball across the goal line before hitting the turf. Rice lost 31-30.
"Clearly, according to all of us, that play was made well before he got to the end zone," said Bowers, to chuckles from his former college teammates. "Well before."
Former Houston Texans defensive end N.D. Kalu attended Rice after Brigance had already graduated, but he said watching Brigance play on TV is partly what inspired him to also play for the Owls. He developed a bond with Brigance and recalled the linebacker always checking on him and even approaching him after the two players' NFL teams met on the field and Brigance giving him advice and encouragement to keep going.
Brigance, who spent five seasons in the Canadian Football League before playing for the NFL's Dolphins, Ravens, Rams and Patriots, became a beloved figure in Baltimore, first as a member of the 2000 Super Bowl championship team, then for his work in the community and in the Ravens' front office for more than two decades. A separate memorial service was held in Maryland last week and Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Ravens teammate Ray Lewis spoke of the bond he formed with Brigance.
"He meant so much to me and to the Rice brotherhood, I actually would get upset when I'd see all the Baltimore Ravens stuff," Kalu said. "I'd say, 'No, he's ours.' And I'm sure people from (Willowridge) feel the same. But, as I would get upset, I would think it's kind of like having a fish in a fish tank, he's so special that he can spread out encouragement to everyone."
A recurring theme of the service, which also included words from Willowridge classmate Tysha Gamble and Canadian Football League teammate Danny Barrett, was how much Brigance gave back to everyone. However, his Rice teammates had one final request from their captain.
"We understand that from Heaven, God sees and keeps a record of everything that happens on Earth. So, when the time is right, please ask God if he has any film from that goal-line stand on Oct. 7, 1989," Bowers said. "We still believe you made that tackle well before the goal line."
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