Northwestern Oklahoma State University

H.L. Brown, a native of Geary, was one of the first three black student-athletes to enroll at Northwestern. For four years, starting in the fall of 1963, he lettered in both baseball and basketball. During his freshman and sophomore years in baseball, Brown was Northwestern’s winningest pitcher. During his junior and senior years, he led the team in hitting. He played outfield for the Rangers when he was not pitching. Of the 30 baseball games won by the Rangers during that time, Brown was the winning pitcher for 16 of them. Brown, an all-stater at Geary High, followed his high school basketball coach, Keith Covey, to Northwestern. The Rangers suffered through two losing seasons before posting a 15-9 mark 1966 and a 15-10 record in 1967. In basketball, Brown was known for his unorthodox style of shooting. During his senior year, he was second in scoring averaging 13.9 points per game; second in free throw shooting at 73.8 percent, and third in rebounding with 4.7 per game. After leaving Northwestern, Brown enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam in 1968-69. Brown is now living in El Reno.