Huntington resident Troy Brown is more than a three-time Super Bowl champion. He is also a devoted husband, dedicated father and an active leader in our community.
By Dave Wellman
HQ 62 | SUMMER 2007
Marshall University football fans know him simply as Troy. His fame in Huntington, like that of Chad and Randy and Byron, comes from his playing days, not only as a star with the Thundering Herd, but in the NFL.
If you hadn’t already figured it out, Troy is Troy Fitzgerald Brown, whose football exploits as a wide receiver and punt returner, both at Marshall in the early 1990s and with the New England Patriots the past 14 years, are legendary in Thundering Herd country and Boston.
At Marshall, Troy caught 101 passes for 1,654 yards and 16 touchdowns in the memorable 1992 season when the Herd won its first NCAA Division I-AA football championship. He was chosen as the team’s most valuable player that year.
“Troy was the ultimate team player whose skill level was unmatched in I-AA,” Jim Donnan, his coach at Marshall in 1991 and 1992, says today.
The professional story of “Football Troy” is one that started slowly in 1993 when the sure-handed, 5-foot-10 standout, admittedly “more quick than fast,” was drafted 198th overall by the Patriots – not exactly breaking news in Huntington or Boston. He caught a grand total of two passes in his first two years in the league, and had to wait until his fifth season with New England to make his first start.
The rest, as they say, is history. It just took Troy a little time, a lot of work and a boatload of patience to make it.
Today, 10 years after that first start, 36-year-old Troy Brown is considered the greatest receiver in New England Patriots history with a team-record 557 catches and 6,366 receiving yards, second-most in team history. He also has 1,862 yards in kickoff returns, 2,570 yards in punt returns, three career interceptions and … for good measure, three Super Bowl rings.
Patriots Coach Bill Belichick spoke of Troy’s versatility, talent and determination in 2004.
“You can’t ask for any more than that,” Belichick said, referring to Troy’s willingness to play offense, defense and special teams in his 12th season. “Troy just epitomized it: (He said) ‘What do you want me to do? Put me in there. I will do the best I can.’ ”
And so, “Football Troy” has defied the odds and reached the summit at the game’s highest level. The statistics, the championships and the records speak for themselves.
Still, there is so much more to Troy Brown than all of the football highlights. There is “Citizen Troy,” the man who not only gives 100 percent effort on the field, but off the field as well. To many whose lives he has touched or even changed, Troy is their MVP – Most Valuable Person. Helping people or organizations in need comes as naturally to Troy Brown as splitting two defenders and snaring one of quarterback Tom Brady’s bullet passes for a first down.
Why does Troy care? Why does he insist on spending his “spare” time as community ambassador, along with his wife, Kim, for Hospice of Huntington, or running a fantasy football camp to raise money for Marshall’s Child Development Academy, or joining with former Marshall teammate Mike Bartrum in organizing and conducting the Bartrum and Brown Football Camp, which funds youth programs and charities in Huntington and Pomeroy, Ohio?
Why does he sponsor local AAU basketball teams, funding their travel and buying their uniforms, or set up mentoring and tutoring programs at the A.D. Lewis Center, or volunteer to coach one of his son’s soccer teams during the off-season? “That’s just the way I am,” he says. “I just like seeing people smile.” Kim believes there is more to it than that.
“Growing up he didn’t have a lot,” Kim says. “He wants to give back and help kids who are in the same situation as he was. He is very giving of his time, his money, just of himself overall.”
Troy, Kim, and their sons, Sirmon, 9, and SaanJay, 6, live in Huntington when Troy is not playing football, and plan to remain there once his playing days are over. Kim is a Huntington High School graduate; Troy is from Barnwell, S.C., but Huntington is his adopted hometown.
“Kim’s a local girl and the kids are involved in a lot of sports,” Troy says. “City life is OK, but here in a smaller area it’s not as congested. It’s a little more fun, a little more laid back.”
First Sentry Bank is one of the sponsors of the Bartrum and Brown Football Camp, attended in 2007 by 600 youngsters. Bob Hardwick is Executive Vice President of the bank and a close friend of Troy’s. Their friendship has grown since Troy talked to Hardwick a few years ago about opening an account.
“First of all, Troy is a great human being,” Hardwick says, his admiration clear in his tone. “He’s a very, very giving, compassionate guy. He means a lot to the community, he’s helped in so many ways. The problem is that everybody wants his time and service. You can only do so much.”
Troy admits he has, at times, been a little overwhelmed by all of the requests for his time. Still, just like in football, Troy gives everything he has to the cause at hand.
“I’m trying to give kids hope. It’s all about the kids,” he says. “I want to see them have a chance to succeed, and not just through sports programs.”
It all goes back to his days growing up in South Carolina.
“A lot of programs weren’t around,” Troy says. “They just didn’t exist. No boys and girls clubs. No A.D. Lewis Center.”
The A.D. Lewis Center, a youth center located on Hal Greer Boulevard in Huntington, is another beneficiary of Troy’s big heart. Proceeds from the Bartrum and Brown Camp helped keep the facility’s swimming pool open in 2006. Brown also has purchased supplies for the center, according to Kim.
Troy’s care for others is not limited to Huntington. Three years ago he was awarded the 2004 Ron Burton Community Service Award for the Patriot most dedicated to serving the community in a positive way. He currently hosts an annual “Troy Brown Celebrity Bingo” event that brings more than 900 participants to Gillette Stadium, the Patriots’ home, where they compete for more than $10,000 in prize money.
The bingo event helps fund the Celebrities for Charity Foundation and other children’s charities.
Bill and Debbie Sheils of Huntington are good friends of Troy and Kim. They’ve experienced up close the football and humanitarian sides of the couple.
“For Troy, it’s not about him, but what he can do to make those around him better,” Bill Sheils says. “He leads by example. He has great integrity and an unbelievable work ethic. You can’t help but admire him. He is very soft spoken, humble, grounded and he has a very strong will to succeed. He shows a selfless devotion to other people, his family, friends, team and community.”
For years, Troy has been a favorite on-field target of Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP. Following New England’s third Super Bowl victory in four years in February 2005, Brady shared his thoughts on Troy with the media.
“As a team player, Troy is right at the top of the list,” Brady said. “There is not another guy who has the respect of his teammates like Troy.”
For the past six seasons, Troy has been elected team captain of the Patriots. Former Marshall star Randy Moss, who will play for New England this season, paid Troy the ultimate compliment shortly after signing with the Patriots during this past off-season.
“I’ve always considered myself the second-best receiver to come out of Marshall,” Moss told the media.
Troy and Kim, who works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a regulatory project manager, celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary on April 10 of this year. Their relationship dates back to 1991 when Troy first arrived in Huntington.
“Kim has kept Troy grounded,” Bill Sheils says. “They make a great pair.”
Both Bill and Debbie Sheils know that, despite all of his obligations, Troy puts his family first.
“He really, really is definitely a family man,” Debbie says. “My first memory of Troy was in 1992 when the team received their championship rings,” Bill Sheils says. “He got up to speak and he became very emotional about all that Marshall and the people of Huntington had done for him. He was very grateful, and that really spoke volumes to me. I’m also really impressed by his love for his family.”
Troy appeared somewhat surprised recently when an admirer complimented him for speaking to him in public. “That’s just the way I am,” Troy says. “I don’t feel special. A lot of people think because of who they are they have certain privileges. I speak to everybody; that’s just the way I treat people.”
Donnan, naturally, has followed Troy’s NFL career closely through the years. As important as the on-field successes are, it’s Troy’s humanitarian efforts that please his former coach most.
“Nothing makes me prouder than to see my former players give back to the community that got them started,” Donnan says.
Of Troy’s big plays at Marshall during his two-year stay, Donnan says his fondest recollection is a kickoff return against Furman in 1991. “It set up the winning score when it looked like they were finally going to beat us with a late touchdown,” Donnan says.
Troy’s memories of Marshall are a little different. Of course he recalls the ’92 championship like it was yesterday, but it’s “the little things” during his two years in Huntington that come to mind first.
“Like my first year when the Bartrums took me in over Thanksgiving,” he says, his perpetual smile broadening. “They thought it was the oddest thing when I ironed my clothes every day. I had three pairs of pants and I ironed them a lot.”
He also remembers the looks he got when he arrived at Marshall carrying his little TV, duffel bag and old junior college mesh bag. ‘That’s the things I remember,” he says.
Troy’s life has changed drastically since. He has worked hard to achieve his greatness, a trait he believes comes directly from his mom.
“My mom, she never quits,” Troy says. “She came in (from South Carolina) this weekend and started cleaning up the place. She always told me, ‘Keep working at it.’ She never quit, never. She wanted her kids to have more than she had.”
Marshall University has grown dramatically as well since Troy played his final game with the Herd. He can name every new building on campus and those that soon will be built, including the student recreation center and new residence halls.
“The last 10 years the campus is looking really, really good,” Troy says. “They’re on the right path here, they’re doing things to make it more attractive for students to come here. Now, we’ve got to get the sports teams (men’s basketball and football) back on track.”
Many believe a major shot in the arm in the university’s growth, not only in athletics but in academics, came when Troy and his Marshall teammates defeated Youngstown State, 31-28, for the I-AA championship in 1992. The victory was incredibly emotional, perhaps even spiritual. After all, it signified Marshall’s climb all the way back from the ashes of the tragic plane crash 22 years before. It also put Marshall in the national headlines.
The man who coached that victory was Jim Donnan.
“He brought us something we were craving for a long time,” Troy says. “He needs to be in the Marshall Hall of Fame.”
Spending 14 years in the NFL – and all with the same team – is almost unheard of these days. The average NFL career is less than four years. Troy has re-signed with New England five times since 1994. He has overcome injuries and, like his mom, never quits. He knows, however, it only takes one serious injury to end a career. He has been fortunate.
“It’s just hard to make it,” Troy says. “A lot of great high school and college players don’t even get a shot. I tell the young players, ‘don’t put all you eggs into one basket. If that’s your choice, go for it, but don’t let that be the only thing that drives you.’ ”
Clearly, football is not the only thing that drives Troy Brown. Good plays are important, for sure, but if there is a Hall of Fame for goodwill, “Citizen Troy” will be a first-round inductee.
Because that’s just the way he is.
