Irv Brown (March 30, 1935 – February 3, 2019) was an American sportscaster, 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 ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player, coach, executive, and official.

Early life

Brown earned seven letters at

North High School North High School may refer to: * North High School (Phoenix, Arizona) * North Pulaski High School, Jacksonville, Arkansas * North High School (Bakersfield, California) * John W. North High School, Riverside, California * North High School (Torr ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he starred in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and

. He played basketball and baseball at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

. After college, he coached football and baseball at

Arvada High School Arvada High School is a public secondary school operated by Jefferson County School District R-1 in Arvada, Colorado, United States. Demographics Arvada High's student body has the following racial demographics: History The first high schoo ...

Arvada, Colorado Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Co ...

, and he also coached baseball at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

and Metro State College. From 1969 to 1977, Brown had a career as a basketball referee, officiating six Final Fours. Brown served as commissioner of the Colorado Athletic Conference in the early 1990s. In 2007, he was named the new commissioner of the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League (MCLB). Brown began his broadcasting career in 1974 on KHOW radio. For over 25 years was on the air with Joe Williams, hosting the show ''The Fan''. Brown and Williams later co-authored ''The Great Book of Denver Sports Lists''. Brown retired from hosting "The Irv and Joe Show" on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1340 with longtime partner Joe Williams, on April 7, 2016, ending a 42-year media career. He was also an analyst for the

NBA on ESPN The ''NBA on ESPN'' is the branding used for the presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games on the ESPN family of networks. The ESPN cable network first televised NBA games from 1982 until 1984, and has been airing games curren ...

and the Southwest Conference on Raycom Sports and HSE during the 1980s. Brown was inducted into the

Colorado Sports Hall of Fame The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (CSHoF) is a hall of fame and museum that honors — by public acknowledgment or commemoration — individuals who merit recognition and distinction for their exploits, accomplishments, and leadership in spo ...

in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Irv 1935 births 2019 deaths Baseball players from Denver Basketball players from Denver College athletic conference commissioners in the United States College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers College men's basketball referees in the United States Colorado Buffaloes baseball coaches Denver Broncos announcers High school baseball coaches in the United States High school football coaches in Colorado Metro State Roadrunners baseball coaches National Basketball Association broadcasters Northern Colorado Bears baseball players Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball players Sportspeople from Denver United States Football League announcers American men's basketball players