Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame
Bob Brown became a college football standout the hard way. He was just 16 years old and weighed only 120 pounds as a senior at Chadron High School so he played only with the reserves. He then served two years as a paratrooper and communications specialist during World War II. He nearly died when he was hit by German mortar fire in February 1945 in southern Belgium.
A medic, whose name he never knew, dragged him out of danger, tended his wounds and gave him a shot of morphine. He then was placed in a stretcher on the hood of a Jeep (the seats and the back were already filled with wounded GIs), and the driver sped to safety. He later discovered that his canteen, which was strapped to his waist, had holes the size of his thumb at both the top and the bottom.
After recovering from his wounds, Brown enrolled at Chadron State and played football three years. He started at guard on both offense and defense in 1947 and ’48, when the Eagles were 7-1-1 and 7-1 and tied for the conference championship both years. He was elected captain of the 1948 team.
Brown spent nearly 35 years in education, most of it as the high school principal or superintendent at Harrison, Kimball and Morrill. His son, Bill, also played football at CSC in the 1980s. Bob died on April 15, 2007.
