Ricardo Vidal "Ricky" Brown (born May 22, 1957) is a former Filipino-American professional basketball player. His monikers were The Quick Brown Fox and Mister Fourth Qwerty.
Collegiate and amateur career
Brown played college ball at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where he was All-West Coast his Junior and Senior years, and Southern California Player of the Year in 1979. He was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 3rd Round of the 1979 NBA Draft. He played for the Philippine National team-Northern Cement coached by Ron Jacobs in the 1980 Jones Cup in Taiwan, where the Philippines won the championship defeating Taiwan, Sweden, Italy, and the United States. Brown also played for the De La Salle Green Archers in 1982.[1]
Professional career
Brown moved on to play professional basketball in the PBA in 1983, where he became the first-ever Filipino-American to play as a 'local' in the league. He was the 1983 Rookie of the Year and 1985 MVP. He was also included in the Mythical Five selection in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988. He played for the Great Taste Coffee Makers and the San Miguel Beermen, where he won a total of 7 championships during his PBA career. His ability to evade his defenders and score as well as pin point assists made him one of the best point guards in the PBA. He holds the All-time PBA career scoring average (23.1 ppg) and PBA All-time Best Assist Average (7.3 per game).
In 1989, the year of San Miguel's Grand Slam (three championships in one year), he was an integral member of a powerhouse squad that included future Hall of Famers Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, and Ramon Fernandez.[2]
Retirement and later career
In 2000, Brown was named a member of the PBA's 25 Greatest Players. In 2009, he was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame along with former teammates Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, and Hector Calma.[3] He is now the Principal of Ross Middle School in Artesia, California, and is the first Filipino-American principal to be named in the ABC Unified School District.[4]
Personal life
Browns's mother, the former Connie Vidal, is from Santa Cruz, Manila. Brown is married to the former Lorma Sahagun, a Filipina from Ilocos Norte, and has two sons, Justin and Kevan. Kevan was born in Cardinal Santos Hospital in San Juan, Greenhills, an affluent suburb of Metro Manila.
In other media
Brown founded the Quick Brown Fox is Ricardo Brown Institute of Typing circa 1984 (closed 1999 at the advent of personal computers in the Philippines). He also made a movie with the comedy king, Dolphy, in 1987 titled Action is Not Missing, which was an entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival and a box-office hit.[5]
References
External links