In 2017, I wrote a book titled “A Glory Denied; The Story of the 1967 Owensboro High School Football Team”.  The book details a season in which the Red Devils outscored their opponents 378 – 27.  Sadly, that team was not allowed to participate in the state play-offs and championship due to being on probation because of an on-field incident against Henderson City High School the year before.  The true inspiration for the book was their All-American running back, Isaac Brown. He was larger than life to me as an eight-year-old boy dreaming of playing football one day and I devoted one whole chapter to Isaac, my childhood hero.  I have reprinted that chapter as a tribute to “Ike” who passed away November 9, 2025. His passing left me heart broken.  With the news of his death, I was suddenly aware that with his passing – I not only lost a cherished friend, but a huge piece of my childhood as well.    

Finding Isaac

During the 1967 Owensboro High School football season, I was thrilled one day to meet (in person) Isaac Brown.  It was one of the few, clear memories I have of that season but one that I cherish.  Football was everything to me as an eight-year-old and I had managed to win my first ever trophy in a Punt, Pass and Kick competition that same year.  That third-place trophy and my OHS jacket were my most prized possessions.  My dad was an Owensboro firefighter and was stationed in a building not far from Owensboro High School.  One afternoon while I was hanging out with my dad and the other firemen, Isaac walked past the station on his way home from football practice.  He was wearing his red and black OHS football letter jacket and my dad called him over to where we were sitting.  To a wide-eyed eight-year-old, Isaac Brown seemed larger than life and when he shook my hand as we were introduced, I was too awe-struck to utter a word.  After that encounter, whenever the Red Devils played, I would scan the field for number “24” and upon finding him, never take my eyes off of him.  He was my first sports idol, and I never forgot him.

After Isaac graduated in the spring of 1968, I never saw him again.  I heard stories of his time at Western Kentucky and playing pro football in Canada.  Tales of his post high school career would be told from time to time.  But, for the most part, Isaac had disappeared.  Through the years I often wondered what happened to him.  From time to time I asked people in the Owensboro school system if they knew of his whereabouts.  Some said he lived in Louisville, some said other places.  No one seemed to know.  It remained a mystery as to what became of one of the greatest running backs in Owensboro High School history. 

When I decided to write this book, I made it a priority that I get in touch with Isaac.  I wanted to hear his story and include his memories of the ’67 season.  The book would not seem complete without him.  Eventually, I was able to acquire a phone number and left a message.  I was uncertain I had the right person, but in my message, I explained my book and the reason for my trying to contact him.  Months went by without a reply, and I eventually completed my first draft and reluctantly forwarded the manuscript to the publisher for editing.  Not having Isaac be part of the book seemed a disservice to the team and a huge disappointment to me, yet, I had no choice but to move forward. 

With the book just a couple of steps away from going to print, while sitting at home one night, my phone rang.  The incoming call was an out-of-state number that I nearly rejected.  But, for some reason, I answered the call and heard a voice on the other end say, “This is Ike Brown.” I could not believe my ears.  Jumping up from my chair, I excitedly asked if he was the “Isaac Brown” that played football for Owensboro High School.  He said he was.  I must have sounded ridiculous trying to explain how excited I was that he had called me and soon we were in a conversation about the 1967 OHS football team and I scribbled notes as fast as my hand would allow.  It was an amazing experience for me.  We talked for thirty minutes as he shared his remarkable story.  After that phone call, I decided it was important enough to travel to meet Isaac and have a picture with him for my book, which was put on hold until my visit with him was complete.  I asked if he would mind my visit and he welcomed me anytime.  One day my daughter, Heather, and I left out from Owensboro and traveled three hours to Indianapolis, Indiana where Ike lived.  It was a visit I will never forget.

The only image in my mind of Isaac Brown was a picture of him as a seventeen-year-old senior in his school yearbook.  Now, nearly fifty years later, I wondered how time had treated him.  Would I even recognize him all these years later?  I knocked on his door and waited for a response.  Several seconds passed and I knocked again.  Finally, I heard a fence gate open and I looked to see a bearded man, wearing sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt, limping down the walkway toward me.  He shuffled forward, moving slowly and reached out his huge hand to accept mine and we embraced without hardly speaking a word.  I had found Isaac Brown.

He welcomed us to his back yard and we sat around his patio table.  His face showed the wear of years but his voice was clear and kind.  He offered us something to drink and we spent the next few minutes talking about his time in Indianapolis and his life away from football.  Everybody has a story to tell.  Isaac Brown’s story is a remarkable one.

Isaac Monroe Brown Jr. grew up on the east side of Owensboro.  At age four, when his mother passed away, his father took over raising he and his brothers and sisters, stressing the importance of respecting others, a creed Ike has lived up to his entire life.  His first memory of playing football was in the Owensboro Pop Warner league as a pre-teen.  His speed as a youngster was quickly noticed by his coaches and his football ability became even more recognizable later as a member of the Eastern Junior High football team.  By the time Ike was a sophomore at OHS, he was already getting playing time at running back behind senior star Sam Tandy, while also playing safety on defense.  Following his 9-1 sophomore season in 1965, Isaac was named starting running back as a junior and was on his way to an outstanding season when a calcium deposit formed in his leg which limited his playing time.  The injury was a huge set-back but served as a motivation for him to make his senior year special.  And special it was.

“That team in ’67 was outstanding,” Ike stated.  “We thought that if we could go undefeated the state may let us in the playoffs,” he reasoned.  Brown was quick to give his teammates a great deal of credit, especially his offensive line and remembered how easy it seemed to run the ball.  “We always had a hole to run through.”  It is Brown’s opinion that the team is largely forgotten because of the little time the starters got to play.  “We usually only got to play half a game,” he said.  “I think that is why people forgot about us.”  When asked about a favorite memory of the year, Brown immediately said it was the 94-yard touchdown gallop against Bowling Green.  But, like many of the ’67 team members, the Flaget game still haunts him.  “We were just flat that day,” Brown determined.  “I remember a kick-off return I had and that I tried to outrun the defense, but they had the angle on me.  I always believed that had I cut back I would have scored.”

As for the infamous Henderson City game that caused the suspension, Brown has little memory of what occurred before the game but said, “It was not unusual for me to be threatened before a game but that didn’t bother me.”  With a chuckle, he said, “I just told the Henderson players they wouldn’t be laughing when they see my footprints on their chest.”  Isaac remembers many of his teammates and coaches with great fondness.  “Coach Poynter always had us ready to play,” Brown stated.   Isaac’s sister, Pat, who I spoke with over the phone, best summed up the 1967 OHS football team when she described them as “the authority in football that year.”   

Following his senior season, Ike remembered being called to the office one day over the PA system.  “I thought I was in trouble,” he recalled.  “When I got to the office,” Ike said, “the Principal, Joe Brown, and Coach Poynter were waiting for me to let me know I had been named All-American.  I had no idea that was going to happen.”  Cheers could then be heard all over the school as news of Isaac’s award was announced over the PA to the entire student body.

Isaac decided to continue his football career at Western Kentucky University and join his good friend and former OHS star Dickie Moore in Bowling Green.  In his first game against Butler University, Ike scored the first time he touched the football and would lead the Hilltoppers to victory with three touchdowns in his college debut.  He was seventeen years old.  An ankle injury sidelined Brown for much of the season and following his freshman year, he decided to play professionally.

His first professional stop was in Richmond, Virginia where he played for the Richmond Roadrunners, a farm team of the New Orleans Saints.  “I was told by the Richmond coach that at eighteen years old I was the youngest player to ever play in the NFL,” Ike remembered.  He stayed with Richmond for two seasons and then went to Roanoke, Virginia and joined the Roanoke Buckskins for one year, a farm team of the Washington Redskins. 

From there Isaac’s football odyssey led him north to Canada and the Montreal Alouettes.  “I had a knee injury that year and didn’t really have very good season,” Isaac admitted.  “I was under contract with Montreal but Ottawa wanted to trade for me but they didn’t like the way my knee looked.”  He was drafted in the sixth-round the following year by the New England Patriots but his lingering knee injury had the Patriots concerned enough to ask a knee specialist to examine him.  “They were told that I needed surgery and would be up to a year to recover.”  He was placed on waivers and picked up by the Atlanta Falcons.  However, his knee would not cooperate.  “Atlanta showed interest but their doctors said my knee was in such bad shape that it would not be worth it.”  And with that, Isaac Brown’s football days came to an end.

Isaac returned home following his football playing days to help take care of his ailing father.  In 1976 he moved away from his hometown but still visits now and again to see family who still reside in Owensboro.  

Today, Ike spends his time at home raising and training Doberman Pinschers and keeping in touch with his six children – all girls.  His knees bear the horrific scars of thirteen knee replacements (ten in one knee and three in the other) and his slow, shuffling walk is a sad reminder of an aging athlete.  But when asked if he has any regrets, his reply is as quick as an Isaac Brown burst through the line of scrimmage, “I would do it all again if I could.”

As our short visit with came to an end, I thanked him for his time and told him how much he meant to me and those who have followed Owensboro High School football through the years.  We presented him with an OHS Red Devil T-shirt, gave him one final embrace and headed home.  As we were driving back to Owensboro, I received a text message from Ike that said, “You have made a special place in my heart. Thank you, my friend.” 

My reply to that was very simple.  “We will be in touch.  You will always be my hero.”