Eddie Brown enshrined in NJCAA Hall of Fame

Brown

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Former Fort Scott Community College receiver Eddie Brown has been inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2011.

"Touchdown" Eddie Brown played for Jack Welch in 1987 and 1988. The Miami, Fla., native was an All-Jayhawk Conference and NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American in 1988. At FSCC, Brown caught 67 passes for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons.

Brown moved on to Louisiana Tech after his days at FSCC. During his junior season, he finished 17th in the nation in kick return average (17.8 per return). In his two seasons at Louisiana Tech, he caught 76 passes for 1,126 yards and 9 touchdowns, returned 25 kickoffs for 504 yards and a score and returned 28 punts for 398 yards and a touchdown.

Brown then played his entire 10-yard professional career with the Albany/Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League (the franchise relocated in 2001). He remains the league's all-time leader in receiving touchdowns (303), receptions (949) and receiving yards (12, 726) and is second in scoring (2,070 points). He was named the AFL's Most Valuable Player in 1996 and 1999 and helped lead the Firebirds to the 1999 championship with a 59-48 victory over the Orlando Predators in Arena Bowl XIII.

When the AFL celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006, Brown was voted by league executives, coaches and media as the greatest player in the league's history. Brown was No. 1 on the top 20 players in the history of the AFL, 10 spots in front of now NFL legendary quarterback Kurt Warner.

In August, Brown was named as an inductee into the AFL Hall of Fame. He will be part of formal ceremony during the 2012 AFL Kickoff Weekend.

Brown returned to FSCC to coach and was an assistant under Jeff Sims when the Greyhounds reached the 2009 NJCAA National Championship Game at the Citizens Bank Bowl, won by Blinn on a score with 15 seconds remaining. Brown currently is the head football coach at Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kan.,moving there prior to last season His son, Antonio, is a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The other 2011 NJCAA inductees are:

* MarTay Jenkins, receiver at North Iowa Area in 1993-94, who went on to an NFL career, playing for four teams between 1999-2004. He also played in the AFL and the Canadian Football League in 2005..

* Ray Butcher, head coach at Arizona Western for nearly 40 years, winning the NJCAA championship in 1972 by defeating Fort Scott in the El Toro Bowl. He led the Matadors to five consecutive bowl games from 1968-72, two of which were NJCAA title games. During that stretch, AWC had a 45-5 record.

* The 1972 Arizona Western football team, which finished 11-0 and allowed fewer than 12 points per game. They defeated Fort Scott 36-8 in the 1972 El Toro Bowl for their only national championship.