Wayne State University Athletics

Brown, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee and graduate of Detroit Northwestern HS, received eight varsity letters at Wayne (1946-49), four in cross country and four in track. Brown was the number one runner in cross country all four seasons. He finished first in 19 dual meets, and participated in the NCAA National Championships held at the end of each season. Brown co-captained the 1946 and captained the 1949 teams, and he was named by the Daily Collegian as Cross Country Man-of-the- Year in 1946, 1947 and 1948. While at Detroit Northwestern HS he earned two letters in cross country, and was captain his senior year. He also ran prep track. Brown graduated from high school in December 1945, and enrolled at Wayne in January 1946. In Brown's first cross country season, 1946, Wayne was a charter member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). In the first-ever MAC championship, hosted by Wayne, Brown finished sixth at 21:58, and the Tartars won the team title with 44 points. Wayne never got the chance to defend the title; after the 1946-47 season Wayne withdrew from the MAC. At the 1946 NCAA National Championships, Brown finished 55th, and the Tartars finished 18th in the team championship. Brown's best-ever finish at the NCAA National Championships came in 1948, when he finished 37th with a time of 20:32. At that time Brown's finish was the highest-ever by a Wayne harrier. Brown's other national championship finishes were 90th in 1947 at 23:20, and 51st in 1949 at 22:00.0. Brown also ran in the 1947 National Junior AAU Meet, placing fifth at 32:43, and in the 1949 National Senior AAU Meet, placing 31stat 33:47. During his four-year Wayne track career Brown ran the distance events, winning several dual meet titles in the One- and Two-Mile Runs. In 1947 Wayne hosted the first-ever MAC Track Championship, and Brown finished third in the Two-Mile Run. Brown graduated from Wayne in 1950 with a B.S. in Physical Education. He joined the Detroit Recreation Department, and was working on a Master's degree at Wayne when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. After graduating from OCS and Counterintelligence School in 1952, he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Regular Army. Brown was honorably discharged in 1954, and he began teaching elementary physical education in the Detroit Public Schools. He received his Master's degree from Wayne in 1959. Brown re-enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1958, and he recently retired as a full colonel. In 1968 Brown was promoted to an assistant elementary school principal, and two years ago he retired as assistant principal at Pitcher Elementary. Brown remains involved in the field of education; he is currently writing his Ed.D. dissertation at Wayne State. Brown is very active in senior tennis. He has had first-and second-place finishes in several public parks and ATA Midwestern tournaments. Currently Brown is ranked fifth nationally in the 55+ Doubles group. In the early 1960s Brown played another 1991 inductee, Robert Ryland, at an AT A Meet in St. Louis. Brown is currently serving as second vice president of the American Tennis Association, and has served as president twice of the Motor City Tennis Club, and once of the Midwestern Tennis Association. Brown and his wife, Joyce, reside in South field, and are parents of three daughters, Karen, Christy and Jackie.