AUBURN, Ala. – A star high school player at Gardendale near Birmingham in the mid-1970s, J.B. Brown earned interest from college baseball coaches, including Auburn's Paul Nix.
"Next thing I knew, my mom was talking to Coach Nix here at Auburn," Brown said. "My mom asked me, 'Have you decided on what school you plan on going to?'"
Brown told his mother he was interested in attending the University of Tennessee to replace two-sport star and fellow Alabama native Condredge Holloway.
Brown's mother had other plans.
"'No. You're going to Auburn,'" she told her son. "'Mr. Nix recruited me. I told him, 'If you would treat him like one of your own kids, he's going to come to Auburn.' He said, 'That's a given.'"
Nix's recruitment of Brown's mother did the job without so much as a campus tour.
"I never made a visit to Auburn until the day I came to start classes," said Brown, who lettered for the Tigers from 1976-79. "He treated me just like one of his kids. His family treated me very well and kept me humble."
In Sewell Hall, Brown roomed next to future Olympic gold medalist and Auburn track coach Harvey Glance. His roommate was Pat Keedy, a teammate at Gardendale High School who would become one of Auburn's 57 major leaguers.
"We were just like a big family," recalled Brown, a versatile high school player who played shortstop, second base and center field.
1976 Auburn Tigers
"I could play anywhere really," said Brown, who earned a starting middle infield position as an Auburn freshman, debuting against Houston with future big leaguer Joe Beckwith on the mound for the Tigers in the season opener on Feb. 26, 1976.
"I made a couple nice plays to save a no-hitter that he threw at the No. 1 team in the nation," Brown said. "I thought his dad was going to choke me to death after the game. He kept saying, 'Man, you made some plays for my son Joe.' It was exciting."
A four-year starter, Brown helped Auburn reach the College World Series in 1976 and win SEC championships in '76 and '78, earning first team All-SEC honors as a junior.
After playing four seasons in the minor leagues in the Chicago White Sox organization, Brown worked in the hospitality industry for Hilton at Lanier Islands in Georgia.
One day during lunch at the hotel, Brown noticed a friend he hadn't seen in many years, Terry Johnson, who recruited Brown to work at the automotive store Johnson and his father own. Brown has worked there for the past 30 years.
During Butch Thompson's tenure as Auburn's head coach, Brown has visited Plainsman Park, where his defensive prowess saved Beckwith's no-hitter five decades earlier.
"I couldn't wait to introduce myself and speak to him," Brown said. "I called him every year, especially when they're getting ready to go play in tournaments.
"I call him all the time and say, 'Coach, y'all go get 'em. Make me proud.'"
Freshman outfielder Chris Stanfield will debut this season for Auburn, two years after Ryan Bliss concluded his All-America career.
A line can be traced back to program standouts Will Holland, Josh Anthony, Anfernee Grier, Trey Cochran-Gill, Sean Gamble, Javon Moran, Frank Sanders, Fred Baxter, hall of famer Frank Thomas and Bo Jackson.
The line begins with J.B. Brown, Auburn's first Black baseball player.
"I didn't know that coming into Auburn," Brown said. "That wouldn't have made any difference to me because I was the only Black player at my high school.
"Having friends and teammates that you can depend on, get along with and put your arm around each other every day, that's a good part of life.
"I wish we can get back together, enjoy each other, enjoy our relationships, and make people proud and happy for each other. That's what I'd like to say."
If fans encounter J.B. Brown at Auburn baseball games, he would be honored to make their acquaintance.
"If they see me, all they have to do is holler at me, I'll come give them a hug and talk to them," he said.
Reflecting on life's fragility, the Auburn baseball pioneer urges members of the Auburn family to cherish their relationships.
"We don't know when our day is," Brown said, pausing as his eyes teared and his voice cracked during a recent reunion of Black Auburn student-athletes from the 1970s. "I don't know when God is going to call me. My word to anybody is enjoy and treat people the right way. Treat them with love and care and you'll feel better about yourself."
'Treat them with love and care'
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
