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San Lorenzo Valley alumnus Stephen Brown was recently inducted into the Chico State University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Brown graduated from SLV in 1968 after a stellar athletic career for the Cougars. He was a fullback, linebacker, punter, kicker for the Cougars football team and caught Cougar pitcher Bob Beach on the baseball team.
Brown then attended Cabrillo College where he played fullback, tight end and punted. Chico State Head Coach Pete Riehlman recruited Brown to move north to punt for the Wildcats.
“I had other offers from schools in the Midwest but the coach at Chico gave me an incredible sales pitch,” Brown said this week. “In hindsight it was one of the best decisions of my life.”
Brown was a pivotal part of the Wildcats special teams and helped the team to back-to-back Far-Western Conference championships in 1970 and 1971. He led the conference in every punting category and was voted co-captain of the 1971 team.
“Brownie played an instrumental role in our team’s success,” Riehlman said. “His punting abilities kept the opposition in poor field position and allowed our great defense to win the field position battle.”
For his efforts, Brown was elected into the Hall of Fame on Oct. 8 with a ceremony at the college.
Brown grew up in Ben Lomond and attended SLV schools from K-12. He now resides in Corralitos where he has been a self-employed registered investment advisor for 39 years. He met his wife and the love of his life Rhodna in kindergarten at SLV and they both graduated from SLV high in 1968 and attended Chico State together. They were finally married in 2006.
