William "Rookie" Brown (February 15, 1925 – May 22, 1971) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player in the United States' National Basketball League (NBL).Rookie Brown NBL stats
basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on July 21, 2015. He played for the

Dayton Rens The Dayton Rens were a member of the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1948–49 season and were the only all-black team to play in a white league. This milestone came just one year after Jackie Robinson, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, b ...

in 10 games during the 1948–49 season. He played collegiately at

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

and

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. Brown died in Neptune, New Jersey at age 46 from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

.Known Deceased Basketball Individuals
Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved on July 21, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Rookie 1925 births 1971 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Centers (basketball) Dayton Rens players Forwards (basketball) Harlem Globetrotters players Howard Bison men's basketball players Virginia Union Panthers men's basketball players