Thomas Hartwell Brown Jr. (July 2, 1890 – August 3, 1972) was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's team ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. He played next to his brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

on the line for the football team. Tom Brown was also a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Early years

Tom Brown was born on July 2, 1890, in

Gallatin, Tennessee Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee. The population was 30,278 at the 2010 census and 44,431 at the 2020 census. Named for United States Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, the city was established on ...

, to Thomas Hartwell Brown, Sr. and Annie Donelson Hunt.

Vanderbilt

Brown graduated from Vanderbilt University with an

M. D ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respec ...

in 1913. In his senior year he was awarded the title of '

Bachelor of Ugliness The Bachelor of Ugliness was a title conferred onto Vanderbilt University's most popular male undergraduate. One of the highest honors that a student could achieve, it was given to the male undergraduate student believed to be most representative of ...

,' given to the most liked fellow on campus. Tom Brown was a prominent tackle on

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

teams, selected All-Southern. As a freshman, he took part in the scoreless tie of defending national champion

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Toledo

Pro football

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served in the Army Medical Corps as a lieutenant. While interning at St Vincent's Hospital in Toledo, he played with the

Toledo Maroons The Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921. History Or ...

. While with them, according to author Emil Klosinski, he played a part in the worst loss ever suffered by legendary coach

Knute Rockne Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud (Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used whi ...

, a 40 to 0 win in 1917 over the "South Bend Jolly Fellows Club."

Physician

Brown was an avid member of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

for more than 38 years. "He had no peers in his orthopedic ability and contributed greatly to Toledo medicine." He was a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons and President of the Lucas County Academy of Medicine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tom 1890 births 1972 deaths People from Gallatin, Tennessee Sportspeople from the Nashville metropolitan area Vanderbilt Commodores football players Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players American football tackles All-Southern college football players Physicians from Tennessee Basketball players from Toledo, Ohio Toledo Maroons players American men's basketball players Players of American football from Toledo, Ohio