July Alumnus of the Month: Brian Browne

Our July Alumnus of the Month is Brian Browne.

What years did you play?
I played in the first game in 1959 as well as in the four games of the 1960 California tour.

What positions did you play?
I played fullback in the 1959 game and later played in the front row.

How were you involved in the formation of Michigan Rugby?
I came from Sydney to swim at Michigan and ended up best friends with the football captain, Jim Orwig. Through Jim, I met another football captain, Tim Green, who went on campus television in 1958 looking for support for a rugby team. It wasn’t until Bert Sugar became interested in 1959 that the team formed, starting with a Sunday meeting at his fraternity. Bert named himself President and made me VP since I had experience playing in grade school. I played fullback in the team’s first game, a win over Toronto.

Tell us about the 1960 California Tour
I graduated in August of ‘59 and was heading back to Sydney via LA but ended up getting a job at UCLA. There, I ran into another former Australian U-M swimmer John Davies (John won a gold medal for Australia in 1952 and later was the judge in the Rodney King court case). John put me in touch with the head of student affairs at UCLA, Norm Padgett. Norm was an incredible rugby supporter for UCLA and when I told him about our fledgling team in Ann Arbor, he said he’d sponsor a tour if we could get the team out.

Through my urging and Norm’s arrangement of the tour and fixtures, Bert managed to get the team to California⁠—many arriving through drive-away cars from Detroit, including the Garden City Mortuary hearse theoretically bound for Honolulu. It was parked conspicuously in San Diego packed with U-M ruggers (it was supposed to be in San Francisco for shipment). I rounded up DY Smith, an attorney in LA who had also played in the team’s first game, and we played in the four games in California. We played UCLA, Pomona, San Diego State, and the Southern California All-Stars.

UCLA was a tough game and we lost 17-3. Francis Gutman, a former Purdue quarterback, played fullback for us and was carted off to the UCLA Medical Center. I ended up getting my picture in the LA Times (see below). UCLA was quite good and our result earned us the respect of the locals.

We ended up losing all four games but I think that tour did a lot to maintain the rugby momentum started the previous year.

What are some other favorite memories?
Norm deserves a lot of credit for that tour and for treating us right on the trip. One night, we escorted Miss America candidates on Sunset Strip and took them to see Louis Prima and Keely Smith. I was escorting one of the Miss Dakotas (can’t remember which) and was so nervous I couldn’t light her cigarette.

Tell us about your time since Michigan Rugby
I did make it back to Australia and played some for the University of New South Wales, but, with my wife being from New York, we came back to the States and settled in LA. I played some lacrosse in LA before heading to San Francisco where I ended up coaching the women’s rugby team there. They were the bravest women I’ve ever seen.

I later took up tennis and master’s swimming. I represented the Olympic Club (in the Bay Area) in both pool and rough-water swimming, winning awards for the club and the Northern California region.

I spent time as a high school teacher in Sydney and Santa Monica and later worked as an economist for UCLA, Douglas Aircraft Company, and PG&E. In retirement I took USAID assignments in Bangladesh, Kosovo, and Jordan as well as the city of San Francisco with Willie Brown. I still write on occasion for various outlets.

I have two children who both lettered in tennis in high school and college and one grandchild.

It’s great to catch up with U-M rugby and see that it is very much alive and well. What a wonderful experience rugby was at U-M!

Again, congratulations to our July Alumnus of the Month, Brian Browne! Brian, thank you for everything you’ve done for Michigan Rugby.