06/19/2023
Before he was a Miami Hurricane, the late Jerome Brown played for the Leopards of Hernando High School in Brooksville, FL (located about 50 miles north of Tampa). He was already a legend in his hometown as a 3-sport star at Hernando High School Class of 1983. Brown was the leading scorer and rebounder on the basketball team. He led the Hernando Leopards baseball team to a state championship during his junior year as a pitcher and outfielder. But it was on the football field, where Brown's talents were most in demand. He was named to the prestigious Parade All American Team.
After choosing the University of Miami, he went on the become one of the most dominating defensive linemen in Hurricane football history. Brown was a member of the 1983 national championship team as a true freshmen and a consensus All American as a senior. A first round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1987, Brown continued to dominate while playing along side hall of fame defensive end Reggie White. During the off seasons, Brown would return home to Brooksville. He once single-handedly stopped a Ku Klux Klan rally while blaring loud music from his pickup truck. He once saved a trucker in an overturned cab.
"I tried to interview him about the K*K rally," said Ray Didinger of the Philadelphia Daily News. "I tried to interview him about saving the trucker on the highway. But he really didn't want to deal with it. In his mind, he did what anybody would have done under those circumstances."
But in the prime of his career, his life was cut short. On June 25, 1992, Brown and his 12-year-old nephew Gus were killed in an automobile accident in their hometown of Brooksville. Brown lost control of his Corvette at high speed and crashed into a power pole. He was 27-years-old. Brown left a huge legacy in his hometown. The city's community center is named after him.