FAYETTEVILLE — Brison Manor grew up in Bridgeton, N.J., and spent most of his NFL career with the Denver Broncos, but Little Rock became his home for 48 years after he starred as a defensive lineman for Arkansas in 1973-74.
“Arkansas is a nice place with nice people,” Manor said in 2018. “It’s just kind of grown on me over the years.”
Manor grew on Arkansas, too.
“Brison was just a real good football player and a great person, and he stayed connected with the University of Arkansas and attended a lot of functions and activities we had,” said Harold Horton, an Arkansas defensive assistant coach in 1968-1980 and later the Razorback Foundation’s executive director. “He always supported the Razorbacks and stayed in touch with us, because he enjoyed his experience here.
“We saw nothing but good in Brison as a player and as a person. We respected everything about him.”
Manor died Tuesday night in Little Rock at age 70. The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, in which Manor was inducted in 2018, confirmed his death.
“It’s very sad news,” Horton said. “Brison is someone who will be missed.”
After Manor earned junior college All-American honors as a sophomore at Pratt (Kan.) Community College in 1972, he was part of the first large wave of Black players to sign with Arkansas.
Jon Richardson became the first Black player at Arkansas in 1969, but Manor was one of 13 Black players in the 1973 recruiting class that also included linebacker Dennis Winston, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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“It was a special class,” Winston said in 2012. “I think all of us knew then we were helping change something here, and now things have changed completely.”
Manor said Arkansas players weren’t divided along racial lines.
“When we went out there on the field, there wasn’t any Black or white,” he said. “It was the other team against us. We were all Razorbacks, and we were trying to win as a team.”
Manor, who became an investment broker in Little Rock, said many Black players who followed his class to Arkansas expressed their thanks.
“They’ve said, ‘If it hadn’t been for guys like you, I wouldn’t have had an opportunity to play at Arkansas,’ ” Manor said. “I’m proud of that.”
Manor, who was inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Honor in 2011, played defensive tackle for the Razorbacks and had 91 tackles in 1973 and 82 in 1974 as a senior.
“Brison not only brought ability, but he brought a lot of character with him,” Horton said. “He was very coachable.”
Manor’s defensive line coach at Arkansas was Jimmy Johnson, the former Razorbacks nose guard who later as a head coach led the University of Miami to a national championship and the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles.
“We used to call him ‘Jumping Jimmy,’ because he was always jumping around,” Manor said. “He was everywhere. I learned a lot about playing defensive technique from Jimmy Johnson. The defense at Arkansas was a lot more intricate than it was in junior college.”
The New York Jets picked Manor in the 15th round of the 1975 NFL Draft at 380th overall.
After Manor was cut by the Jets at the end of training camp, he worked at a car dealership in the Little Rock area but continued to stay in shape in case another NFL team called.
A scout for the Broncos was impressed watching film of Manor playing in a preseason game and invited him to a tryout in Denver.
Manor signed with the Broncos, but a knee injury in training camp sidelined him for the 1976 season. Denver put Manor on its injured reserve list, so he stayed with the team and learned the 3-4 defense while recovering from surgery.
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In 1977, Manor became a key part of the “Orange Crush” defense that led Denver to its first AFC championship while holding opponents to an average of 10.6 points per game and five total rushing touchdowns.
Manor didn’t start that season, but he played extensively as a reserve for a unit that featured linebackers Tom Jackson and Randy Gradishar, linemen Lyle Alzado, Rubin Carter and Barney Chavous, and defensive backs Louis Wright and Steve Foley.
“We’re considered one of the best defenses ever in the NFL,” Manor said. “When your defense has a nickname, you know you were good.
“Teams couldn’t run against us at all. We played reckless. We didn’t really care about our bodies. We were flying all over the field. It was a fun time, because people were scared of us.”
The Broncos played in Super Bowl VII in New Orleans against the Cowboys, who won 27-10.
Denver suffered eight turnovers, so the defense played better than the final scored indicated. Dallas led 20-10 going into the fourth quarter.
“Even with eight turnovers, we were in the game until Dallas scored its last touchdown,” Manor said. “It was still a thrill to play in the Super Bowl.”
Manor continued to play with the Broncos until being traded to Tampa Bay before the 1984 season. He played six games for Tampa Bay, returned to Denver to play his final five games in 1984 and then retired from football.
In 107 games for the Broncos, Manor had 371 tackles, 16 sacks for 150 yards in losses, recovered 3 fumbles and made 1 interception — against Seattle quarterback Jim Zorn in 1981 — with a 16-yard return.
The Broncos posted a story about Manor on their website Wednesday and expressed condolences to his family.
At Arkansas, Manor won a starting job at defensive tackle in his first week of preseason practice. He was 6-4 and 250 pounds and had speed and quickness to go with his size.
Wrestling in high school and at Pratt, Manor said, also helped with his football moves.
“When Brison came in here and played for us, he was even better than what we imagined,” Horton said. “He made an instant impression because he was bigger than what we were accustomed to having on our defensive line. “His size caught our eye, plus his mobility and athletic ability. He really moved around well for a guy his size. He was a truly big-time player.”
A big-time person too.