College football's Hall of Fame honor for Dave Brown helps soothe loss for family, friends

by Terry Pluto

Thursday July 24, 2008, 5:09 PM

Last weekend, Akron product Dave Brown was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend. Ind.

The former Akron Garfield and Michigan star would have been 55 if he were still alive, only he died three years ago after playing in a pickup basketball game.

"It was a great ceremony, and lots of people said nice things about Dave," said Frank Williams, his brother in-law. "Only it also was like Dave was invisible. The other players and coaches like Doug Flutie, Joe Paterno Rex Kern and Jim Ballard (who were inducted) were there, but not Dave. They showed a film of him, but that was about it."

Williams wasn't complaining. His brother in-law died too young of a massive heart attack. Nothing anyone could do about that. It's just that the Brown family wished Dave could have been there.

Brown's wife, Rhonda, still has a picture of her and her husband outlined in a huge heart. His two sons -- Aaron and Sterling -- find themselves missing their father more than they'd ever dreamed. Brown's mother in-law carries around a letter from Dave, thanking her for raising such a wonderful daughter who became his wife.

At Texas Tech, where Brown was a defensive backs coach, there remains a sense of emptiness at his church, in team meetings, about anywhere and any time his name is remembered. Williams was extremely close to his brother in-law, the two men talking frequently and even praying together on the phone.

"But I never realized all the people he helped quietly until after he died, giving money to needy families and asking them not to tell anyone," said Williams, who married Brown's sister. That was Kay Brown, who died of lupus in 1983 at the age of 34.

Brown was a defensive back at Akron Garfield in the early 1970s, playing for the late Babe Flossie.

"Dave was only about 165 pounds back then, but he was a hitter, he'd really smack you on the field," said Tim Flossie, the son of Babe Flossie and now a coach at Akron Firestone.

Long-time Garfield football coach Bill McGee was an assistant during Brown's era.

"Along with Antoine Winfield at Ohio State, Dave is the best defensive back to come out of Garfield," said McGee. "You are talking about a very solid guy, a good student, pretty quiet, never in any trouble."

McGee and Flossie both said Ohio State never seriously recruited Brown, but Michigan coach Bo Schembechler loved the young man who developed into a two-time All-American cornerback. The Wolverines were 32-1 with 11 shutouts in his three years as a starter.

He was a first-round draft pick by Pittsburgh, and played 15 years in the NFL, 11 in Seattle where he is a member of that team's Ring of Honor.

"I got to know Dave after he turned pro," said Ronald Fowler, pastor of Akron's Arlington Church of God. "His brother, Tim, attended our church. Whenever Dave was in town, he came to church with Tim. He was a perfect gentleman. His faith was real."

Brown's legacy is doing the right things, the right way -- and not expecting any praise for it. His family and friends talk about him being "a man with a big heart," the same heart that stopped in that pickup game, which included his son, Aaron.

"It's just tough," said Frank Williams. "Dave left the house one day to play basketball, and never came home. You just never think something like that would happen to someone who is 52 and in great shape like him, but it did."