John Edward Brown was born on April 9, 1922 in Belen, Mississippi to Balaam and Augusta Brown. At an early age the Brown Family moved to Gary, Indiana.
Brown's spiritual growth began when he joined the St. James A.M.E. Church in Gary, Indiana. At St. James, he participated in many of the church's youth activities.
Education was a priority for the Brown's family, so after high school he attended North Carolina College (Now North Carolina Central University - NCCU) in Durham, North Carolina on a full scholarship.
During his college years, Brown met and fell in love with his future wife - Arrie Louise Scott. Before he could complete his work for his undergraduate degree at NCCU, he was drafted into the United States Army. After completing basic training he and Louise were married on August 14, 1942.
When Brown was honorably discharge from the Army he returned to NCCU to complete his undergraduate degree. While at NCCU, he excelled in both football and basketball and was voted All Everything in Sports. He graduated from NCCU in 1947 and matriculated at Northwest University, were he earned a Master’s Degree. Later during his professional career, Brown pursued a doctoral degree at Michigan State University.
Immediately after graduation from NCCU, Brown was one of the first African American Athletes drafted from an HBCU School into the All-American Football Conference by the Los Angeles Dons.
During the off seasons while with the Dons, he played professional basketball in Dayton, Ohio and New York.
In 1951, Brown and his wife moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada where Brown played with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and in 1954 with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. During the off seasons, he played in the Canadian Professional Basketball League for the King’s Best Team.
While living in Canada, the Brown were blessed with the birth of two daughters, Pamela and Cheryl.
In 1957, Brown was hired by Southern University of Baton Rouge, Louisiana to be their football coach. He worked at Southern University for 30 years and during his tenure at Southern, he was also their basketball coach, golf instructor and taught in the Physical Education Department. While at Southern, he also served as a recruiter for both the Baltimore Colts and the Cleveland Browns.
Brown is a member of three Sports Hall of Fame: CIAA Hall of Fame, NCCU Athletic Hall of Fame and Southern University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Brown was a member of the Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At Camphor Memorial, he served in many capacities including member-at large of the Administrative Council and volunteer counselor with the summer camp.
Brown loved his family, golf, reading, playing poker, watching TV westerns, attending sports events and being an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He was known to be kind, sociable and stayed in contact with his high school, college and professional buddies. Brown was a lifetime member of the Kappa Alpha Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Brown died at age 87 on Monday, June 1, 2009, at 1 pm at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Funeral services were held on Friday, June 5th at 2 pm at Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church.
Brown was proceeded in death by his wife, Arrie Louise Brown and he leaves to cherish his memories are his daughters, Mrs. Pamela Tennel (NCCU Alumnus) of Miami, Fla. and Cheryl Bernard and her husband Wayne of Baton Rogue, LA; a granddaughter, Karhonda A. Scriven and husband Don; and two great-grandchildren.
