View source for Ron Brown (wide receiver)

{{Short description|American football player (born 1961)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name         = Ron Brown
| image        =
| image_size   =
| alt          =
| caption      =
| current_team =
| number       = 89, 24, 81
| position     = [[Wide receiver]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1961|03|31}}
| birth_place  = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_date   =
| death_place  =
| height_ft    = 5
| height_in    = 11
| weight_lbs   = 181
| high_school  = [[Baldwin Park High School|Baldwin Park]] {{nowrap|([[Baldwin Park, California]])}}
| college      = [[Arizona State Sun Devils football|Arizona State]]
| draftyear    = 1983
| draftround   = 2
| draftpick    = 41<br>(by the [[Cleveland Browns]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CLE&yr=1983&lg=nfl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225024445/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CLE&yr=1983&lg=nfl |title=1983 Cleveland Browns |website=databaseFootball.com |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 25, 2008 |access-date= July 7, 2020}}</ref>
| pastteams    =
* [[Los Angeles Rams]] ([[1984 NFL season|1984]]–[[1989 NFL season|1989]])
* [[Los Angeles Raiders]] ([[1990 NFL season|1990]])
* Los Angeles Rams ([[1991 NFL season|1991]])
| highlights   =
* First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1985 All-Pro Team|1985]])
* [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1986 Pro Bowl|1985]])
| statseason   =
| statlabel1   = [[Reception (American football)|Receptions]]
| statvalue1   = 98
| statlabel2   = Receiving yards
| statvalue2   = 1,791
| statlabel3   = [[Touchdown]]s
| statvalue3   = 13
| statlabel4   = [[Return yards]]
| statvalue4   = 4,493
| statlabel5   = [[Touchdown|Return touchdowns]]
| statvalue5   = 4
| pfr          = B/BrowRo01
}}
'''Ronald James Brown''' (born March 31, 1961) is an American former [[Athletics (sport)|athlete]] and professional [[American football|football]] player. He won a gold medal in the [[4 × 100 metres relay]] at the [[1984 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news |title=A year ago, Ron Brown turned down a multi-million...
|date=August 17, 1984 |work=[[United Press International|UPI]] |url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/08/17/A-year-ago-Ron-Brown-turned-down-a-multi-million/7709461563200/ }}</ref> Brown played as a [[wide receiver]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). He went to [[Arizona State University]].<ref>{{cite news |title=ASU's Ron Brown preferred track to football, leading to 1984 Olympic gold |first=Jeff |last=Metcalfe |work=Azcentral Sports |date=July 30, 2014 |url=http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/olympics/2014/07/30/1984-olympics-ron-brown/13386159/ }}</ref>
==High school career==
Brown played [[high school football]] at powerhouse [[Baldwin Park High School]] in [[Baldwin Park, California]] until his senior year.  He then moved to Northern California and played for [[Northgate High School (Walnut Creek, California)|Northgate High School]] in [[Walnut Creek, California|Walnut Creek]].{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}
==Track and field==
{{MedalTop}}
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|athletics]]}}
{{MedalCountry |the {{flagu|United States}} }}
{{MedalGold | [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]] | [[Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay|4 × 100 m relay]]}}
{{MedalBottom}}
Brown was also a track star, he ran the second leg in the [[4 × 100 metres relay]] team that won the gold medal and set the world record in the [[1984 Summer Olympics]] in Los Angeles, with a time of 37.83 seconds.
Brown also competed in the [[60 meters]], [[100 meters]] and [[200 meters]], posting personal bests of 6.64 seconds, 10.01 seconds and 20.44 seconds, respectively.
==Football career==
Brown was drafted in the second round of the 1983 draft by the [[Cleveland Browns]], but never reported to them as he was training for the Olympics. The Browns traded their rights to the [[Los Angeles Rams]], and Brown joined the Rams after the Olympics.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20241201013212/https://www.raiders.com/news/all-gold-everything-raiders-in-the-olympics-ron-brown</ref>. He caught 23 passes in 1984 for 478 yards with four touchdowns as a rookie in 1984 before being tasked to return kicks the following year. In 1985, he returned 28 kicks for 918 yards for three touchdowns (his touchdowns and 32.8 yards per return were league highs). This resulted in Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. Only his 1989 year would exceed that season, with him returning 47 (a league high) for 968 yards. In his eight seasons, he recorded 1,000 all-purpose yards (receiving + returns) four times (1985–87, 1989) before his career ended in 1990 at the age of 30.
Brown appeared in the [[1986 Los Angeles Rams season|1986 Rams]] promotional video, ''Let's Ram It'',<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19357745/rams/ |title=Rams |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=129 |date=November 13, 1986 |access-date=April 18, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> where he went by the name "Speedball Brown" and claimed to be the fastest man in town.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxkKlzInR4Y |title=Ram IT (NFL Rams Football Team) Song |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=April 17, 2018}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref>
===Personal bests===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Event
!Time (seconds)
!Venue
!Date
|-
|[[60 meters]]
|6.64
|Tokyo, Japan
|March 10, 1984
|-
|[[100 meters]]
|10.01
|Eugene, Oregon
|April 24, 1983
|-
|[[200 meters]]
|20.44
|Eugene, Oregon
|June 4, 1983
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{World Athletics}}
{{Footer US NC Indoor 60m Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x100 m Men|1984}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1984 Summer Olympics}}
{{Browns1983DraftPicks}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ron}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football return specialists]]
[[Category:American football wide receivers]]
[[Category:American male sprinters]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Arizona State Sun Devils football players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Raiders players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Rams players]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:People from Baldwin Park, California]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Walnut Creek, California]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Contra Costa County, California]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:Baldwin Park High School alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
{{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub}}
{{widereceiver-1960s-stub}}