Hall of Fame
O.D. Brown is a 1968 graduate who was a three-year letterman in football. His collegiate football career had an interesting start because he decided to try out for a spot on the football team after his freshman year. Not only did he try out, the former standout athlete in the mid-1960s at Southeast High School in Pine Bluff earned a starting position in the spring of 1965 and held onto that spot throughout college. Known for his quickness as an outside rusher, he was a three-time letterman and ranked high on the team’s tackle charts. Having a strong ability to mentor and communicate with his teammates as a player, head football coach and athletic director Vannette Johnson offered him an assistant coach position shortly after graduation and he accepted the appointment. He continued on the Lions’ coaching staff through the 1976 season and later started working in the high school ranks as a teacher, assistant principal and principal with stops at Wabbaseka and Dollarway High Schools in Arkansas before retiring in 1998. Once retired, he became involved in the Pine Bluff and Jefferson County community. For two years, he was a member of the Jefferson County Quorum Court. He also was a four-year chairman of the Southeast Neighborhood Strategy Area organization that was established to improve housing between 34th and Ohio Streets in Pine Bluff. He also is a lifetime member of Union Missionary Baptist Church in Pine Bluff and serves as a deacon.
