Former Cincinnati Bengals owner and founder Paul Brown had a monument in his memory unveiled in his hometown of Norwalk, Ohio on Saturday after 22 months of planning.
According to Mark Hazelwood of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there was a large turnout for the event, which had about 500 people there to see the newly named Paul Brown Park.
Paul H. Brown, the owner’s youngest grandson and the current Vice President of Player Personnel for the Bengals, made comments at the event, and was joined by Bengals Pro Football Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz.
Here’s some of what they said at the event:
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to be here today,” Brown said. “It feels really good. My grandfather was an amazing person. To know that Norwalk felt that he was such an amazing person to do something like this is incredible.”
“Paul Brown gave me an opportunity after a lot of teams weren’t going to touch me because of the injuries,” Munoz said. “They took a chance. I’m sure a lot of Bengals fans couldn’t understand it at the time. That was an incentive for me to prove they made the right decision.
“To be in Norwalk for the statue unveiling of Coach Brown along with the Brown family, Jim Smith (Hall of Famer Relations), and a guy I competed against in Garin Veris — this is a really special day.
“I’m thankful Paul Brown gave me the opportunity to be in the special fraternity of the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The man was amazing. It was 11 years I got to spend my career around him, and the history and information we learned from him was invaluable and priceless.”
Pro football wouldn't be what it is in the state of Ohio without Paul Brown, the co-founder and namesake of the @Browns who later founded the @Bengals.
In Brown's hometown of Norwalk, Ohio, a monument in his memory was unveiled on Saturday.
In five days’ time, 18 players will be inducted into the inaugural class. That group will be narrowed down from a group of 50 legends of the sport who are eligible to be inducted. The induction ceremony will take place on July 30 at the Timken Auditorium at the Timken Career Campus in Canton.
In no great shock, Paul Brown and Anthony Munoz will be the first two inaugural members.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com caught up with Munoz after he learned of his induction in a surprise meeting that he thought was a routine thing and the Hall of Famer spoke about what it means to go into the ring alongside Brown:
“To know I had a chance to spend 10 of my 13 years around him every day was amazing. Now you get a chance to go into this Ring of Honor with him and it’s pretty cool. It is really exciting. It’s an honor. The organization has had some amazing, amazing players over the 50–plus years of existence. I think this is great because now we get to celebrate all the guys and that’s what it’s all about.”
Cincinnati will induct four total former Bengals into the ring this year, with season ticket members getting the chance to vote on the other two. Boomer Esiason, Chad Johnson, Ken Anderson and Ken Riley were the other names featured in the team’s announcement video.
Considering the team’s rich history, fans and the team alike have plenty of personnel to choose from dating back 50-plus years.
Paul Brown began volunteering for the Greensboro PGA Tour event in 1999 and has worked to make the Wyndham better every year.
Paul Brown, Volunteer.
That’s the email signature of Greensboro, North Carolina resident Paul Brown and it couldn’t be more accurate.
In 2017, Brown was named the Wyndham Championship Volunteer of the Year after 17 years volunteering for the annual PGA Tour stop in Greensboro. Two years later on Nov. 21, Brown was further honored for his incomparable dedication when he was named PGA Tour Volunteer of the Year.
It’s not surprising Brown earned both honors considering how he goes above and beyond his duties as a hole captain at the August event, but it is surprising it’s taken so long.
Brown began volunteering for the event when he moved to Greensboro in 1999 and answered an ad in the local newspaper to become a course marshal for the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic at Forest Oaks Country Club. He began as a spotter on the par-4 16th, a job he held for several years as the event transitioned to the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. When Wyndham took over in 2007 and moved to Sedgefield Country Club in 2008, Brown’s presence as a volunteer grew more prominent.
He now captains the par-3 16th and has done the job well for 11 years, but Brown doesn’t take pride in the recognition he’s received. Rather, he attributes the honors to excellent teamwork.
“Of course when you’re (honored with) something like this you have to realize all of the people behind it, all the volunteers,” Brown said. “I handle about 40 volunteers who work hole 16 every year at the tournament and of course their efforts go toward making the tournament better than ever … It’s kind of a group award more than anything, that’s the way I feel about it.”
Paul and Charlotte Brown of Greensboro, North Carolina (Paul and Charlotte Brown)
But Brown shouldn’t sell himself short. It’s his communication skills and dedication that go above and beyond the call of the average volunteer hole captain. During the tournament, he begins recruiting spectators. The lure of being inside the ropes draws fans to ask questions to which Brown readily has answers. Outside of tournament week, Brown frequently communicates with new and returning volunteers over email, reminding them of registration and important dates.
But he doesn’t just help keep volunteers informed, he wants to make the event better. Brown creates a survey for his volunteers after the tournament, although he’s not sure if any other hole captains do it. He reads every single response before passing them along to the Wyndham Championship.
“That way everyone that works for me gets a shot at the tournament directors and everybody, and they say good things and bad things about the tournament. And of course the Wyndham people review that and there are some good points,” Brown said. “You know you get good things (from) the people in the trenches.”
While he’s an expert at watching golf, Brown doesn’t play anymore. He played since he lived in Fridley, Minnesota, after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1956, but he and his wife Charlotte retired from the game about two years ago.
Something surprising to learn about Paul after hearing about the time and energy he dedicates to the tournament is that he’s turning 85 in January.
Charlotte, 79, volunteered at the Wyndham Championship with Paul for five or six years and still wishes she could, but due to high blood pressure, she can’t be out in the sun during long, hot days of the tournament. She now helps Paul with record keeping and communicating with volunteers.
“I feel like I’m still a part of it although I don’t have the communication (and involvement) I used to have,” Charlotte said.
While the August heat of North Carolina, clamor of course evacuations that go along with summer storms and long days can be difficult for any volunteer, Paul hasn’t slowed down. His youthful vigor reflected in his voice carries him through.
“It’s not like many (volunteers) can take the entire week,” Wyndham Tournament director Mark Brazil said. “Paul’s in there at 6:30 in the morning, he doesn’t leave until 7 at night and those are full-time staff type hours and he’s doing that as a volunteer. Most of your volunteers, and we’re happy to have all of our volunteers … they can take one day. But he’s the kind of guy that takes the whole week.”
During the tournament, Paul works 12-hour days and in the offseason dedicates countless hours to his hole captain duties. If that’s not enough, Paul also volunteers at junior and college golf events held around Greensboro, including a two-week junior camp at Pinehurst. He serves at the aquatics center at the Greensboro Sports Foundation helping with YMCA events, ACC men’s and women’s aquatic events, Olympic tryouts and ACC basketball championships at the Coliseum. He volunteers even more at the Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau helping with races, NCAA events and track competitions.
If all that’s still not enough, Paul has also found paying gigs as part of the statistical crew for the Charlotte Hornets’ NBA G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, and as a coordinator and rover for Guilford County Board of Elections, proving guidance at precincts on election days.
Paul and Charlotte Brown of Greensboro, North Carolina (Paul and Charlotte Brown)
Paul said he’s able to keep up with all his volunteer responsibilities because he served as an official for hockey, football, baseball, basketball and softball during his career. He’s convinced those five sports have kept him young.
After graduating from Minnesota, Paul also served as the Parks and Recreation director in Fridley until 1975. He then moved to Oklahoma City to take a job with the Amateur Softball Association as umpire, director and youth director and lived there for 27 years before he and Charlotte moved to Greensboro.
Additionally, Paul attributes a healthy lifestyle to his longevity. He goes to the doctor and dentist regularly, gives blood twice a year and doesn’t drink or smoke.
“I have legs of a 20-year-old man holding me up so I’ve been very lucky with that,” Paul said.
The only place his age really shows in his depth of experience.
“If we were ever to have a Mr. Volunteer in Greensboro and around the region, he’d certainly be one of them,” Brazil said.
