February is Black History Month, a time to honor those who have made a difference in our country and broke racial barriers. Steelers.com is highlighting stories from those who were touched by individuals who have broken barriers, to sharing the stories of those who broke barriers themselves.
Sometimes, timing can be everything.
And for Larry Brown, the former Steelers tight end/tackle who is a member of the team's Hall of Honor, that was certainly the case.
Brown grew up during a time when segregation was the rule and not the exception in the South. It came with Brown, an African American, not able to enjoy the same things white people in his area did. He couldn't eat at the same restaurants, use the same door to go to the doctor's office, use the same restrooms or go to the same school as the white kids in his hometown of Starke, Florida.
And that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Until things changed in 1964.
On July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed segregation in businesses, it banned discriminatory practices in employment and ended segregation in places such as public schools.
That ruling changed Brown's life for good.
There were two high schools in Brown's hometown, one had a football team, one didn't.
In Brown's junior year of high school in 1965, while attending school that didn't offer football, he realized the high school football powerhouse in his area, Bradford High School, was now desegregated.
His mind thought about transferring there, but he wasn't quite ready at that time to make the move to the new school.
When the spring of 1966 rolled around, Brown joined the team for spring practice. They were coming off the 1965 state championship, and for a young man that had a love for football growing in his heart, it was an opportunity he never could have envisioned.
So, he jumped at it.
"During that time, we lived in the deep South, we lived in Florida, in a small town, a rural town and everything was segregated," said Brown. "Everything was that way, restaurants, schools, just the way of life was segregated. Going into the doctor's office, there was what they called a colored entrance. It was a way of life down there.
"Luckily for me in that regard, desegregation happened the year prior to me going to Bradford because I thought about it for a minute. I didn't go over there in my junior year. I waited and went my senior year.
"I was always a fan of football, watching games on television. They won the state championship at Bradford my junior year. I remember following them on the radio. I thought, maybe I would give it a try.
"I played a lot of football for fun, touch football, in gym class and on the street. I thought I would like to try going out for a team. So, I went over that spring before my senior year. They had spring training practice going on. I went over and met the coach. I went with one other student, and we had a chance to do their spring training. I'd walk over to the other place after school and it was probably a mile and a half, two miles, that separated the schools. So, after school, I'd walk over and go to spring practice. I actually got a chance to participate in the spring game.
"As the school year ended, and summer football started, I transferred schools, and I played there. I got to do training leading into the school year. But the other student, for some reason I never really found out, chose not to come back out."
While Brown wasn't sure what to expect in his first season, thanks to legendary coach David Hurse, he never had an issue fitting in.
"I can tell you, he was just one of the best coaches I've ever been around," said Brown. "He was interested in coaching, teaching. It was an opportunity for him. He saw me as someone who had some potential to play. I do recall I got injured during the spring session before I registered at the school. It was a leg injury. I think I got cleated in the calf. I didn't go back to practice because it was kind of difficult to walk. I got called to the office at the school I was at, and Coach Hurse was there.
"He said, what happened? I told him and he said well you still have to come to practice with us. He expressed what appeared to me a real sincere interest in me, just making sure I didn't quit. And he really wanted me on the team. That went a long way with me.
"I think because of his leadership, I never had any issues with my teammates at all. At some point, you're strangers to each other. The way to really get to know each other is through blood, sweat and tears and bumping into each other and gaining respect for what the other guy is doing. Our team wasn't very big. We only had 21-22 guys on the team. We depended on each other. We got to know each other on a raw basis during the spring. I made the team that year and we actually went on to win a state championship a second time, even after a lot of the players had graduated. I held one of the spots on offense and one of the spots on defense. We were fortunate enough to win a championship.
"I'm still friends with guys that are on that team. That afforded me a great opportunity. It was a great experience for me. We've had some reunions, and one of the things they asked, because they remembered different incidents or things that would happen when we traveled. And quite frankly, I didn't recall the ones they were remembering because I grew up there and whatever someone said, I didn't really hear it.
"I really value and treasure that opportunity because it makes me think of all the players and kids that I grew up with who were ahead of me in school, who I thought were just outstanding athletes and didn't get that opportunity, didn't get that chance. It wasn't lost on me how fortunate I was with the timing.
"The timing was right for me. It was quite a blessing."
Thanks to his time at Bradford High School, Brown was able to earn a scholarship to the University of Kansas. And ultimately the Steelers drafted him in the fifth round of the 1971 NFL Draft, landing him at a place that was an ideal situation.
"When I got here, you could just tell the makeup of the club, the way people were treated, the community aspect of the team itself and the coaching," said Brown. "It was the perfect place for me. I got a chance to play on what arguably was one of the best teams that was ever assembled with all the players. There were a lot of players who didn't necessarily get some of the hype, but also very good players throughout the roster. The Rooneys and Coach (Chuck) Noll had a philosophy that was focused on the best players available. You felt like you were getting a fair shot. That's the way it was the whole time. You had to work to get your opportunity. And the Rooney family was a part of that."
Brown always looks at the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams interview diverse candidates for key positions, including coaches and management, to help increase the number of minorities in key positions, as something that tells the story of what the Steelers and Rooney family mean to the game.
"When I was a player, there were times when I'd go get my hair cut in the Hill District area of Pittsburgh and a lot of the old guys there, they just loved Mr. (Art) Rooney (Sr.)," said Brown. "They talked about him. They talked about the stories he shared. He just treated everybody the same. I remember I spent time in the hospital and the lady who was cleaning up the room came in and she just talked about Mr. Rooney. He was a neighbor, who happened to own the Steelers.
"That culture permeated the organization through their leadership. Dan Rooney, he grew up in that culture with his dad. I think they led the way in that regard. And the spirit of the Rooney Rule is something that was saying just as we built our team here, based on the player available with no regard for anything other than giving the best people the opportunity regardless of anything. If you don't give everyone a chance, you're denying the league the best coaches and so forth."
Brown, who currently owns and operates Applebees restaurants in the Pittsburgh area, dealt with a lot in his early years during segregation, but when it ended, he was able to see there were good people out there who were victims of the way the world was, just like he was.
"It should never have been the case," said Brown of segregation. "The situation should never have existed. There never should have been that kind of situation in terms of the history of the country, or the history of that community I grew up in. In that regard, I do feel fortunate. It's not lost on me the opportunity I was given.
"A lot of things that were going on, I was accustomed to. I remember at one of the high school reunions, some guys were almost apologetic for what I went through. They were as much a victim of the culture as I was. They grew up in a culture that existed. They were doing what the norm was, as I was.
"The amazing thing about getting to know people is it's an opportunity for things to change. A lot of what you thought and what the culture was in terms of who was who, it just kind of got dispelled. People I thought of one way, we could have been friends from the time we were little kids if things were different."
