Kevin Brown said Lycoming Street wasn’t renamed for the first time Saturday.
He and his brother, Gary, the famous high school, college and professional football player, renamed it long ago.
“Not too many people know this story, this renaming of Lycoming Street was done in 1980. Me and him wrote our names in somebody's concrete down the street when I was seven or eight years old, he was 10 or 11.”
As he spoke, he choked back tears.
“We wrote Gary and Kevin,” Brown said.
Amid the emotions, Brown still cracked a big smile.
“Our mom whooped our asses for that,” he said.
The crowd roared with laughter.
The city officially renamed Lycoming Street Gary Brown Jr. Way on Saturday.
Gary Brown’s son, Tre, proudly unveiled the sign.
Amid the laughter, the sun shined, the birds sang, Lycoming Street came to life and the tears flowed.
The street, right at the house he grew up, 531 Lycoming St., filled with family members, friends and fans.
At each of the street’s corners, a brown colored sign signifies the “hero,” as Kevin called him.
“He would have not expected any of us to do this, for anyone to do anything for him. He was the greatest guy. He was my hero,” he said.
Brown played eight seasons in the NFL, the first five with the Houston Oilers, now the Tennessee Titans. Brown starred as a running back for Williamsport Area High School and then, from 1987 to 1990, at Penn State.
Brown’s legacy grew when he played in the NFL between 1991 and 1999. He played with the Oilers through 1995, did not play in the NFL in 1996 and joined the San Diego Chargers in 1997. He spent 1998 and 1999, his final two seasons, with the New York Giants.
After leaving the NFL, Brown returned to his hometown in 2003 to coach running backs for Lycoming College and Williamsport Area. He stayed with the college until 2005.
From 2006 and 2007, Brown served as offensive coordinator for Susquehanna University. In 2007, he moved onto Rutgers University as a running backs coach.
Brown returned to the NFL as a Cleveland Browns running back coach between 2009 and 2012. Between 2013 and 2019, he coached running backs for the Dallas Cowboys.
Brown finished his lengthy career in 2021 as the University of Wisconsin Badgers running back coach.
“I know if he were here today, he would be incredibly thankful and honored, but in true fashion, humbled, because to him, he was always just a kid from Lycoming Street,” Brown’s daughter Milena said. “He loved football, he loved his family and he loved the city.”
Brown made Williamsort proud with the years he played in the NFL, the years he coached for the Cowboys and for being a “hero” to his home community.
Cancer took Brown’s life in 2022. He left a legacy on and off the football field in his death at 52.
“I think part of what as his wife, when he first passed away, was hard for me was to think that people would forget about him,” said Kim Brown, Gary Brown’s wife. “This is a way that I know that his memory will always live on… It's just a small way to know that his memory will live on forever.”
Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter said Brown, who was his cousin, was more than Gary to him. He was Gar, a nickname familiar to family and friends.
“We are here this morning in the memory of Gary, or Gar, as I knew him,” Slaughter said. “I have very fond memories of Lycoming Street… It's really an honor for me to be able to be here this morning as we memorialize Gar's legacy.”
Slaughter said his cousin was “arguably the best player that we ever saw on the football field from Williamsport.”
“But he was so impactful in the community, and what he meant to all of us who are here in Williamsport,” he said.
Even when he lived in Dallas or Ohio, coaching for the Browns or the Cowboys, Williamsport was on his mind.
“My dad loved this town very deeply, and while his career took him and us many places, he only considered one place home, and that was right here in Williamsport,” Milena Brown said. “He would always remind me, Dory (short for Dorianna) and Tre, to never forget where you came from. That's really what he stood for in the community that helped make him who he was and I really don't think there's any better representation of that than this city and the street that he grew up on.”
The street will keep its original name for 911 calls, but signs will also show Gary Brown Jr Way. The street intersects with Walnut, Locust, Center and Elmira Streets.
“There's no other person that I know that deserves this more. Thank you to Williamsport, thank you to my cousin for making this happen. And I appreciate everybody,” Kevin Brown said.
