Longtime broadcast veteran Don Brown dies at 63

DAYTON — Long-time broadcast veteran Don Brown passed away Sunday, according to social media his family posted on Monday. He was 63.

>>PHOTOS: Longtime broadcast veteran Don Brown

His daughter, Haley, posted on Facebook Monday the following statement, “My dad did so much good and impacted so many lives during his time on earth. His work on the MDA Telethon for 18 years is something I will never forget.”

Brown was a Dayton native and graduated from Stebbins High School in 1978 and then proceeded to attend Wright State University, where he played baseball for the school. He is a 1983 graduate of Wright State.

Brown began his broadcast career around 1980 at WHIO Radio, where he provided high school football color commentary, along with former WHIO-TV Sports Director Mike Hartsock who was working for WHIO Radio at the time.

Hartsock said, “Don was a true sports legend in the Miami Valley. He loved his Bengals, the Reds, and his Stebbins Indians. I was blessed to share many press boxes and sidelines with him over the years. He was “old school” from the first time I met him until the day he died. His passion for his hometown wasn’t just about sports, Don hosted the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day telethon for nearly two decades raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight the disease. Don was more than a colleague…he was one of my best friends. I had to smile when less than 24 hours after he died, the Bengals got their first win of the season.”

After many years working in broadcast television in the Dayton area, Brown returned to WHIO in 2005 where he worked alongside Hartsock once again doing television sports reporting and anchoring for WHIO-TV until 2014.

Brown was inducted into the Dayton Area Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019. He was also inducted into the Stebbins Hall of Fame.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 1-4 p.m. at the Kettering American Legion Post on Kentshire Road.

In lieu of flowers Brown’s family is asking for donations to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Funeral arrangements will be made public once they are available.

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