He could have flung aside his ball glove and walked away at age 18 when life tugged on the back of his jersey. After all, Lance Brown graduated from West Plains High School in 1960 with a bum pitching arm and without so much as a scout or college recruiter on his heels.
In fact, he decided his best option was the ministry, and so Brown left for Texas Christian University, whose baseball program had shown mild interest before a damaged arm wrecked his senior year.
“I don’t think they even expected me to show up and play there,” Brown said. “For three years, I worked 20 hours a week in the library and paid for school.”
However, thanks to perseverance – along with the advice of former World Series pitcher Preacher Roe and two summers in Kansas City – Brown rebuilt his career and, ultimately, carved out a baseball legacy at Texas Christian.
Call it a legacy leading the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame to induct Brown among the Class of 2016. The Enshrinement Ceremonies presented by Killian Construction are Sunday, January 31 in Springfield. For tickets, call 417-889-3100. (See information below).
Brown in 1963 emerged as an All-American pitcher and the Southwest Conference Player of the Year at Texas Christian, where he later returned to head the program and owns a school-record 517 wins over 17 seasons (1986 to 2003). He was voted conference Coach of the Year twice (1991, 1994) and is one of only two men to win both the SWC Player and Coach of the Year awards. His 1994 team earned a school-record 38 wins and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1956.
Along the way, Brown’s TCU teams produced 47 Major League Baseball draft picks (eight who reached the big leagues, including 1999 All-Star Jeff Zimmerman), nine All-Americans and 51 all-conference players.
In the 11 seasons prior to Brown’s arrival as head coach, the Horned Frogs had finished no better than sixth in the conference. Worse, when approached about the job, Brown was told the program had fallen on hard times, both athletically and academically.
Brown put himself in position to lead the turnaround. For one, he compiled a 622-274 combined record in Texas high school and American Legion baseball from 1967 to 1983 and then spent three seasons as pitching coach at Rice University.
All of which was set up decades earlier, thanks to the two summers following his West Plains graduation. In essence, Brown applied the wisdom gleaned from Roe, a former Brooklyn Dodgers great who had moved to West Plains following retirement.
Eventually, after two non-descript seasons at TCU, Brown enjoyed a breakout junior year, finishing 11-1 (8-1 in SWC).
“Preacher Roe was phenomenal,” Brown said. “He taught me how to change speeds. Up until I hurt my arm, I just tried to throw it by everybody. But he taught me how to pitch. … His philosophy helped guide my own career, and I have passed his ideas on to people to this day.”
Brown’s two summers in Kansas City – first as he mentored under Rudy Fick in the Senior 3&2 League and then for Western Auto of the Ban Johnson League – set up his junior season at TCU.
A true pitcher, Brown always sought an edge. At one point, one of his TCU volunteer assistants was none other than Nolan Ryan, whose sons, Reid and Reese, played for Brown.
“I was just so fortunate to be around so many different baseball people my whole life,” said Brown, who threw batting practice for the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. “Jamie Moyer, who never threw harder than 83-84 mph, and Nolan Ryan both had 25-year big-league careers. They are at the center of my philosophy – that the most successful players use their own skills and do not try to do things they don’t do very well.”
After pitching briefly in the Chicago Cubs farm system, Brown coached at four Texas high schools – Sam Houston in Arlington, Irving MacArthur, Carrollton Newman Smith and All Saints Episcopal School in Fort Worth – before joining Rice.
His 1984 Rice pitching staff led the NCAA with a 2.60 earned run average. Among four who signed pro contracts was Norm Charlton, part of the Cincinnati Reds’ “Nasty Boys” bullpen and 1990 World Series team. Brown taught him the split-fingered fastball that would define the lefty’s career.
In his post-TCU career, Brown has served as pitching coach at Texas Tech University and for clubs in the American Association, an independent pro league. He and his wife, Molly, live in Fort Worth.
“Many people were so kind to share information with me that I tried to pass along to help people achieve their dreams. I have been truly blessed to have been associated with so many great players and coaches over the years. They made it all possible,” Brown said. “It’s been a fun, fun ride.”
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Enshrinement Ceremonies 2016 presented by Killian Construction
What: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement
When: 11 a.m. reception presented by Meeks The Builder’s Choice at the Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive; 4 p.m. reception & 5 p.m. dinner & event on Jan. 31. Associate sponsors are Hillyard, Inc., Hiland Dairy, Advertising Plus and White River Valley Electric Cooperative.
Where: University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center
Missouri Sports Legend: University of Central Missouri athletic director Jerry Hughes
Class of 2016: Mizzou Tigers football coach Gary Pinkel; former big-league pitcher Jerry Reuss, longtime NFL coach Gregg Williams, Springfield native and retired PBR bull rider L.J. Jenkins, Kansas City Chiefs center Tim Grunhard, St. Joseph native and Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Terin Humphrey, Kansas City native and St. Louis Cardinals linebacker Eric Williams, longtime Kansas City Royals scouting director Art Stewart, Evangel University men’s basketball coach Steve Jenkins, West Plains native and former Texas Christian University baseball coach Lance Brown, former University of Missouri and Olympic track and field standout Natasha Kaiser-Brown, Missouri Southern men’s basketball coach Robert Corn, St. Louis University High School racquetball coach Joe Koestner, Missouri State University sports information director Mark Stillwell, John Burroughs High School football coach Jim Lemen, The John Burroughs School football program and the Mizzou Tigers’ 1966 Sugar Bowl team. The John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award will go to Med-Pay, Inc., owned by Gordon and Marshall Kinne, and Ken Meyer of Meyer Communications is the recipient of the President’s Award.
Tickets: Call 417-889-3100. Individual tickets are $150. Tables of 10 are $1,500 and include associate sponsor recognition in the printed program and autographed prints. Sponsorship opportunities such as congratulatory ads also are available.
