Michigan State University Athletics
Lauren Brown: Former Cross Country Standout
Lauren Brown: Former Cross Country Standout
Brown to be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame Sept. 27.
Sept. 26, 2003
Lauren P. Brown or "Brownie" as he was more affectionately known, was the leading member of the Spartan cross country team from 1926-29. He will be inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 27, along with Joe DeLamielleure (football, 1970-72), Tom Yewcic (football/baseball, 1951-54), Mary Fossum (golf, 1973-97) and Cheryl Gilliam (track, 1978-81).
Teammates and athletes under his coaching would all agree that this cross country legend must have written the book on how to teach, coach and motivate his athletes through his calculated actions.
Brownie belonged to the largest cross country team in the history of Michigan State College during his sophomore year. In 1927, the team consisted of over 50 men, yet Brownie found no trouble standing out in the crowd. His experience led him to set distance records his junior year; imbedding his remarkable talent from across campus to across the country. In 1928, Brownie was donned with the prestigious All-American status.
In 1929, he became captain of the cross country team and with an undefeated season, led MSC to the first National ICAAAA Classic in New York City.
Brownie ran the two mile with a record time of 9:46, shattering his previous best by more than 10 seconds. Soon afterwards, he again bettered his time by winning the Central Intercollegiate Championship with an impressive time of 9:41.
Running through scenic hills and the picturesque countryside, another Brownie spectacular was his performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. During the Ohio Relays in 1929, he not only won the event, but also set the best all-around record ever attained by MSC in this event.
Seeing leadership and charisma in him, his teammates once again elected him captain. Throughout his junior year, Brownie was setting the pace all across the nation for cross country runners.
He covered a two-mile course with a time of 9:39.2 at Notre Dame, establishing a new field house record. He continued breaking records at the Chicago gymnasium and earned two first- place finishes at the Central Intercollegiate Championship, one of which was the two-mile run. He forged through the season and remained unbeatable; giving him an impressive undefeated record in dual meets for three consecutive years in 1929.
Just when athletes thought he couldn't possibly achieve anything more, he broke through all barriers once again. In 1931, he won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Penn Relays coming from behind at a length of 70 yards to thrash the existing record by more than 18 seconds.
Not one to go quietly, he ended his collegiate running career in the two-mile race at a home meet. With a time of 9:34.8, Brownie set new varsity, meet and stadium records.
He received his bachelor of science degree from MSC that spring. Even though graduation brought a close to 'his' academic career, it couldn't keep him away from the team. His passion for cross country ran deep and he realized he could not just walk away from the sport forever. His solution? To become the new freshman track coach.
With his addition to the coaching staff in 1932, the cross country team repeated the success of their 1931 season.
Quickly after becoming the head coach, the cross country team catapulted to success. Just one year later in 1932, Brownie's boys continued to remain undefeated and placed fourth in the team standing in the National Intercollegiate cross country run in New York. Soon after, in 1933, the cross county team won the ICAAAA championship.
Just to prove that his early success as coach wasn't a fluke; Brown took the MSC team to another ICAAAA championship again in 1934.
And if that wasn't enough, 'Brownie' led the national powerhouse cross country varsity track team to a season where every meet record was broken in 1937.
It was also in this year that the team retired the ICAAAA cross country cup after winning the Eastern intercollegiate title for the fifth consecutive year. This cup was up for grabs between three other universities - Syracuse, Penn State, and Cornell. The challenge behind the cup was that whatever team attained five straight titles could gain permanent possession of the cup. Each of these other three universities had previously achieved four. State left all three in the dust, quite literally, and ran away with the cup after their latest achievement of this last, and fifth, national victory.
Never straying far from victory, his team finished second in 1938. Looking to break into new avenues at the collegiate level, he became the secretary of the National Collegiate Cross Country Coaches Association during its introductory year.
By 1947, the time had come when head cross country coach Brown made the decision to abdicate his position as coach. This final season remained consistent with his career as his team won the National junior A.A.U. title in the fall.
Never to relinquish total involvement with the university and committee, he joined the games committee in 1950 and became the scorer and head timer for cross country and track in 1951.
The athletic department also benefited from his success while he ran and coached. Brownie took his involvement a step further with the department and continued throughout the years to design programs, print publications, and advertising through his printing press, in which he worked diligently since his days as a student.
With unlimited passion came his dedication to the sport of cross country. In 1956, Brownie pulled from his expertise to devise the scoring system for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Brownie understood through his experiences as an athlete what it took to be a winner. He knew all the tricks and applied his personal experience to his athletes. His knowledge and ability to coach is easily backed with his team's victorious record.
Brownie's legendary way with cross country set extraordinary standards that cross country coaches today still hold with the utmost respect and awe. One might say that Brownie was the Bear Bryant of cross country. He managed to obtain success at an unusually young age. His achievements at the collegiate level - as an athlete and a coach - set levels that others could only one day hope to achieve. Brownie's time with the team quickly became known as the "Golden Era" and is still looked upon with reverence today.
** The MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, which is located in the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center on the campus of Michigan State University, was dedicated on Oct. 1, 1999. It is open to the general public on home football Saturdays, normally two hours after the game. The $250,000 Hall of Fame displays key moments in Spartan athletic history as well as plaques of the 77 current inductees. The charter class of 300 former Spartan athletes, coaches and administrators was inducted in 1992.