Brown, John Willie "Scoop"
(born: March 16, 1922 - died: June 27, 2002)John W. Brown was born in Lexington, KY, the son of Hiram T. and Anna Mae Mitchell Brown. He attended the (old) Dunbar School in Lexington, where he was an outstanding football player as a kicker and receiver as well as a star basketball player. Brown got his nickname when he played first base for the Lexington Hustlers.
He was employed by the Fayette Urban County Parks and Recreation. Brown also coached the Lexington Hustlers team for nearly 50 years. He was also an official of baseball, basketball, and football in Kentucky and was the first African American official in the men's NAIA national tournament. In 1994, John W. Brown was inducted into the Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame.
For more see M. Fields, "19 State sports figures join high school hall of fame," Lexington Herald-Leader, 03/23/1994, Sports section, p. C5; M. Story, "Brown's legacy lives with kids - local athlete did best work for city's black children," Lexington Herald-Leader, 07/07/2002, Sports section, p. C2; see John W. Brown in "Funeral Notices," Lexignton Herald-Leader, 06/30/2022, p.B4.
