Ricardo Brown (basketball)

For other people with the same name, see Ricardo Brown.

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Vidal and the surname or paternal family name is Brown.

Ricardo Brown

Personal information
Born	(1957-05-22) May 22, 1957 Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	Filipino / American
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Career information
College	Centenary (1975–1976) Yavapai JC (1976–1977) Pepperdine (1978–1980) De La Salle University (1982)
NBA draft	1979: 3rd round, 59th overall pick
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career	1980–1990
Position	Point guard
Number	23
Career history
1983–1987	Great Taste Coffee Makers
1988–1990	San Miguel Beermen
Career highlights and awards
PBA Most Valuable Player (1985) PBA Rookie of the Year (1983) PBA Mythical Five (1983) 4× PBA Mythical First Team (1984–1986, 1988) PBA Mythical Second Team (1987) PBA's 25 Greatest Players PBA Hall of Fame in 2009
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Ricardo Vidal "Ricky" Brown (born May 22, 1957) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. His moniker was The Quick Brown Fox.

Collegiate Career

Ricardo Brown played for a diverse set of colleges in the United States. His performances became notable that he would later be drafted by the Houston Rockets for the 59th overall pick in the 3rd Round of the 1979 NBA Draft. Though he was not signed to any team, Brown continued to play collegiate basketball, eventually being discovered by Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. in the United States and would thereafter move to the Philippines. He had a notable career playing for the De La Salle Green Archers during many different tournaments in 1982. He would simultaneously enroll and take classes there for the remainder of the year before declaring his intention to enter the PBA.

Professional career

A year after his notable college career in DLSU, Brown moved on to play professional basketball in the PBA in 1983. It was here where he became famous in the professional stage as 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. In 1983, he was only the 2nd player ever to win the coveted Rookie of the Year Award and also be named to the Mythical Five Team. In that same Rookie Year, Ricky was in a close race for league MVP with teammate Bogs Adornado and eventual MVP, Abet Guidaben. In 1985, Ricky's best year in the PBA, The Quick Brown Fox was simply awesome. He regularly scored more than 30 points per game as well as have double figures in assists. His high game that year was 56 points against Ginebra, but what many people forget is that Ricky had back-to-back 40+ games in the PBA Open Championship versus Norman Black and Magnolia. Ricky was selected the MVP of that Championship Series, which was the 3rd straight title for powerhouse Great Taste Coffee team. During Ricky's somewhat brief career in the PBA (only 7 years and 19 Conferences), Ricky 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 ball handling skills, without question head and shoulders more advanced than any Filipino in the PBA during that era, his ability to evade defenders with intelligence and quickness, the skillset to score at will from anywhere on the court, and great presence and vision on the court to produce pin point assists made him one of the best point guards and combo guards ever to play in the PBA. Even though Ricky last played more than 27 years ago, he still holds the All-time PBA career scoring average (23.1 ppg) and PBA All-time Best Assist Average (7.3 per game), as well as the best FT percentage over a career at 87.9%.

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. Brown would eventually go down in PBA history as one of the finest players and sportsmen to ever grace the hardcourts of the Philippines.

Retirement and Honors

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. 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.

Personal life

Brown's parents were married in Manila in 1945 and moved to the United States the next year. His father Lee Brown was an American serviceman and a former major leaguer with the St. Louis Cardinals in the MLB. Brown's mother, the former Conrada Vidal, had a family-owned photography shop in Santa Cruz, Manila. Brown has two brothers and a sister born in the Philippines. Ricardo 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 Greenhills, San Juan, located in 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.

Post-Retirement

Ricky has been in education since 1981, first as a Teacher, then a Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, and Principal. In 2008, he became the first Filipino-American Principal in the prestigious ABC Unified School District. Ricky remained Principal at Ross Academy of Creative and Media Arts, a school that became a California School To Watch and a California Gold Ribbon School during his tenure, for nine years. In June of 2017, Ricky was offered and accepted the job of Principal of Tracy High School, a Continuation School and Alternative Education Program, also in the ABC Unified School District.

External links

• Ricardo "The Quick Brown Fox" Brown (Official)