Lawrence Raymond Brink is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive lineman who played seven seasons in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

.

Early life and education

Brink was born in Milaca, Minnesota

Milaca, Minnesota

Milaca is a city in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,946 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mille Lacs County and is situated on the Rum River.-Geography:...

 on September 12, 1923, to Garrett and Anna (Ruis) Brink. He attended Foley High School in Foley, Minnesota

Foley, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,154 people, 756 households, and 499 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,148.6 people per square mile . There were 793 housing units at an average density of 422.8 per square mile...

. After military service in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Brink went to Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...

, where he played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 for the Huskies

Northern Illinois Huskies football

The Northern Illinois Huskies football team represents Northern Illinois University in the Mid-American Conference of the NCAA's Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision.-History:...

 from 1945 to 1947. He played with three other future NFL players on the 1946 team that won the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was a college athletic conference that existed from 1908 to 1970 in the United States.-History:...

 Championship, with an 8–2–0 record. The team went on to the Turkey Bowl

Turkey Bowl

Turkey Bowl may refer to one of the following sports events:*Turkey Bowl , a common name for high school American football games held either on Thanksgiving or over Thanksgiving weekend...

, losing to Evanston in the Huskies' first post-season game. He graduated in 1948 with a B.S. in education. In 1978, Brink was one of the charter inductees of the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame.