Fred "Downtown Freddie Brown" Brown (b. 1948), had just finished his senior year at the University of Iowa when he was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1971 NBA draft. He went on to play 13 seasons with the Sonics before retiring in 1984. Two years later the Sonics retired his number (32). The Sonics' 41-year run in Seattle came to a controversial end in 2008 after the new owners relocated the team to Oklahoma City, rebranded as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In this image Fred Brown, left, listens at Bob Whitsitt, Sonics' general manager, explains that despite rumors to contrary, there were no hard feelings between Mr. Brown and the Sonics when the Sonics didn't renew Mr. Brown's contract for the 1984-1985 season. At the same press conference the Sonics' announced they were retiring Mr. Brown's number (32), just the second jersey number the Sonics had retired. After his NBA career, Mr. Brown and his family remained in Seattle, where he began a career in investment banking at Seafirst Bank and Bank of America.
Caption information source: https://www.blackpast.org/vignette_aahw/brown-fred-downtown-freddie-1948 Caption information source: "Former Sonic Had His Day, Now Gets 'Fred Brown Night,"" The Seattle Times, October 29, 1986, p. E3. Caption information sources: "Seattle SuperSonics, Part 1-2," by Dan Johnson, HistoryLink.org Essays 3029 and 3112.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 9 x 7 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.028.06.03, photo by Grant M. Haller
