| Tommy Brown |
Full Name: Thomas Brown
Born: December 21, 1928 in Marianna, Fl
Died: February 16, 2008 in Tallahassee, Fl
School: Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida
West Point in West Point, New York
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| FSU Career |
| Football | |
Year No Pos Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown 1950 20 HB 5-11 155 So * Tallahassee 1951 20 HB 5-10 150 Jr * Tallahassee 1952 20 HB 5-10 150 Sr * Tallahassee |
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| Golf | |
Year Hgt Wgt Cl Ltr Hometown 1951 5-10 150 So * Tallahassee 1952 5-10 150 Jr * Tallahassee |
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| Comments |
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From the Tallahassee Democrat Originally published February 19, 2008 'Natural athlete' Tommy Brown dies By Gerald Ensley Legendary Tallahassee athlete Tommy Brown, who still holds the record for the longest punt in Florida State football history, has died. Brown, 79, died late Saturday night at his east-side Tallahassee home from the effects of heart disease. He won 15 letters in five sports at Leon High, where his football coach was Tom Brown, the later-county commissioner for whom Tom Brown Park is named. He played football for Army and FSU and was an assistant golf pro at Killearn Country Club. He was a crack pool player and scratch golfer. Brown played safety and punter on an undefeated Army team in 1949. He then returned home to play for FSU, leading the Seminoles to an undefeated season in 1950. In the season's final game, against Tampa, Brown ripped off an 84-yard punt - a wind-aided, first-quarter boot that reportedly bounced into the parking lot of the just-completed Campbell Stadium - for a school record that has never been broken. Brown, who played three seasons for FSU, also held the record for most interceptions in a game (three, twice) until 1998. "My father had this saying: 'I can beat any man from any land at any game that he can name for any amount that he can count,'" said Tommy Brown Jr., lead singer of the Tallahassee band Tom and the Cats. "Everyone I ever talked to said he was the most natural athlete they ever saw." Brown co-owned one of Tallahassee's first liquor stores (Kent's), worked for Jim Walter Homes, worked for Tallahassee's Albritton-Williams construction company and retired several years ago from the state. He was an avid outdoorsman and fisherman who retained his slender, blond, boyish good looks well into middle age. "He kind of had that James Dean look," said former FSU golf coach Ernie Lanford. "He was always smiling. I never saw him in a bad mood." Brown was a talented golfer who took a couple of tries at a pro career before staying in Tallahassee, where he won numerous amateur tournaments. Yet he was best remembered by some for a match he lost while on the FSU golf team in 1951-1952 - when he was beaten by Stetson University woman golfer Grace Lenczyk. "She beat him like a drum," said former teammate Tom Cumbie. "Come to find out, she was the 1948 U.S. woman's amateur champion. I called him 'Grace' from then on."
Brown is survived by his wife of 39 years, Lillie, and son. There will be a
memorial service for Brown at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Capital City Country
Club. |
| Awards |
| Football |
Year Award 1951 Associated Press - Little All-American - Honorable Mention |
| FSU Statistics |
| Football |
Defensive Statistics Year GP TK Ast Tot Sack Yds TFL Yds QBH Int Yds TD PBU FF FR Yds TD Bk Saf ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1950 . . 0 . . . . . 2 . 0 . . . . 0 . . 1951 . . 0 . . . . . 4 . 0 . . 2 . 0 . . 1952 . . 0 . . . . . 6 97 0 . . . . 0 . . ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tot 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 12 97 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 |
Offensive Statistics Year GP Rush Yds Avg Long TD Pass Comp Pct Yds Int Eff Long TD Rec Yds Avg Long TD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1950 12 75 6.3 0 1 0 0 .000 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 1 1951 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.0 63t 1 1952 5 19 3.8 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tot 0 17 94 5.5 1 1 0 .000 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0.0 63t 2 |
Special Teams Statistics Year GP Punt Yds Avg Long TB I20 BK Avg PR Yds Avg Long TD --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1950 22 734 33.4 84 0 0 0.0 0 0 1951 0 0 0.0 19 298 15.7 57t 1 1952 42 1654 39.4 0 13 98 7.5 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tot 0 64 2388 37.3 84 0 0 0 32 396 12.4 57t 1 |
| Golf |
Year Tournaments Rounds Par Low Strokes Wins Top10 Ave =========================================================== 1950-51 8 14.0 0 76 1,132 0 0 80.86 1951-52 15 13.0 0 73 1,009 0 0 77.62 ----------------------------------------------------------- Total 23 27 0 73 2,141 0 0 79.30 |
Date Opponent/Tournament Place Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Total Par
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1950-51 Season
03/20/1951 GEORGIA 76 76 72
03/24/1951 FLORIDA INTERCOLLEGIATE 88 85 86 83 342 72
03/26/1951 JACKSONVILLE NAS 79 79 72
03/31/1951 EMORY 79 79 72
05/04/1951 GEORGIA 77 77 72
05/05/1951 MERCER 83 83 72
05/09/1951 EMORY 78 78 72
05/12/1951 SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE 76 80 81 81 318 72
1951-52 Season
03/13/1952 JACKSONVILLE NAS 77 77
03/14/1952 ROLLINS COLLEGE 79 79
03/15/1952 STETSON 80 80
03/19/1952 MIAMI 78 78
03/22/1952 FLORIDA INTERCOLLEGIATE 84 84
03/24/1952 GEORGIA TECH 73 73
03/25/1952 GEORGIA 76 76
03/31/1952 CITADEL 76 76
04/03/1952 ROLLINS COLLEGE 79 79
04/05/1952 MERCER 78 78
04/28/1952 MERCER 0 0
04/29/1952 GEORGIA 0 0
04/30/1952 AUBURN 0 0
05/03/1952 SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE 76 76 77 229
05/10/1952 JACKSONVILLE NAS 0 0
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