Willie Brown, a Hall of Fame defensive back for the Oakland Raiders in the 1960s and ’70s who memorably returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown in a rout of the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI, died on Monday in Tracy, Calif. He was 78.

The Raiders confirmed the death.

Brown was a deft cornerback who joined the swashbuckling Raiders in a trade in 1967, just as the team was becoming one of the best franchises in pro football. He had 39 interceptions in 12 seasons with the Raiders, a team record that he still holds with Lester Hayes. He had seven more interceptions in 17 playoff games.

“Willie was a true Raider and one of the best cornerbacks that ever played the game,” John Madden, the Raiders’ head coach from 1969 to 1978, said in a statement. “It was a comfort to a coach to be able to have Willie Brown in the defensive backfield.”

Brown was near the end of his career when, in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XI on Jan. 9, 1977, he looked at the Vikings as they lined up on offense on the Raiders’ 28-yard line and, he later said, sensed the play that Minnesota quarterback Fran Tarkenton would call.