Brown was 41 when he came to the Brewers in 1980, replacing Merle Harmon, who had left the team after 10 years to cover the Summer Olympics in Moscow for NBC-TV. The U.S. decided to boycott those Games.

Brown, who was born in East Chicago, Ind., and grew up on the southeast side of Chicago, signed a two-year contract with WTMJ, Inc. on Dec. 3, 1979.

Then president of the Brewers, Bud Selig, said when Brown was hired: "He's the only person we seriously considered. He has a great delivery, a terrific voice and a very exciting style. He communicates excitement. He's also very professional, which is very important to us."

Before coming to Milwaukee, Brown had worked Chicago White Sox games for four seasons (1976-'79). He had started as a major-league announcer with the St. Louis Cardinals, working there for one season (1974). On the minor-league baseball level he called games for the Class AAA Iowa Oaks.

Brown worked White Sox games on WMAQ Radio and Channel 44 in Chicago with Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall.

Working with two of the more colorful announcers in the business was a pleasure, not a chore, Brown said.

"A lot of people are surprised at that," Brown told The Milwaukee Journal. "But to me, Harry and Jimmy are among the best broadcasters in America."

While in Chicago, Brown handled Chicago Bulls basketball games for three seasons and the Chicago Cougars of the World Hockey Association for a season.

At the time he was hired by the Brewers, Brown said he had the option of remaining in Chicago or taking a job with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Brown worked with Bob Uecker and Mike Hegan on both the radio and TV broadcasts in '80. When WISN Radio won the rights to Brewers broadcasts for two seasons starting in 1981, both Brown and Uecker were retained by the station.

Brown told the Milwaukee Sentinel that baseball "is the toughest of any sport to do" because in hockey, football and basketball "there is continuous action and you flow right along with it, but in baseball you're on the air three hours with a lot of non-action stretches.  . . . You better have something to say."

Brown resigned from WISN Radio in November 1981 after management decided to let Uecker call six innings of play-by-play and his partner three innings. In the '81 season, the two had split innings evenly.

Dwayne Mosley replaced Brown, who went on to work for the New York Mets for the 1982 season. He returned to work for the White Sox from 1983-'88. He also called games for the Chicago Blitz of the USFL.

In 2005 Brown moved to Las Cruces, where he worked for New Mexico State University as a radio broadcaster and public address announcer.

"We'll miss him a lot, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family," New Mexico State sports information director Tyler Dunkel told the Las Cruces Sun-News.

At New Mexico State, Brown called Aggies women's basketball games on radio and was the public address announcer for Aggies softball games. When an Aggies player hit a home run, Brown's call was "Adios amigo."

During his career Brown called college basketball games for Bradley, Drake, Notre Dame, the Big Ten Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Metro Conference. In 1994, he was hired for two seasons by Mike Veeck to handle telecasts of St. Paul Saints minor-league baseball games.

Brown is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, two sons and a daughter. Services were held Monday in Las Cruces.