The Haggar Gold Jacket Report - Issue 20

The Haggar Gold Jacket Report is a weekly update on recent news surrounding the very select group of men who’ve earned a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hall of Famers Birthdays

June 2– *Tex Schramm (1920) June 3 – Emmitt Thomas (1943) June 5 – *Marion Motley (1920) June 5 – Art Donovan (1925) June 6 – Bobby Mitchell (1935) *Deceased

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back JIM BROWN was an exceptional lacrosse player at Manhasset High School on Long Island and later a two-time first-team All-American during his days at Syracuse University. As a senior in 1957, Brown scored 43 goals and led Syracuse to a 10-0 season. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1983. He recently became involved with the sport again when he purchased 20 percent ownership in the Major League Lacrosse’s Long Island Lizards.

The team's former owner, Scott Rosenzweig, passed away on Feb. 3, 2012 and the Medallion Financial Corp., a New York City based investment group, has just finalized a deal which will make them the new majority owner. Andrew Murstein is Medallion's president and will be a co-owner of the team along with Brown and a group of local owners.

"We are very excited about this opportunity, the potential of Major League Lacrosse, and working with a legend like Jim Brown," said Murstein, a Roslyn, N.Y. native.

In a statement released by the new ownership group, Brown stated that, "Not everyone knows this, but lacrosse has always been my favorite sport along with football. I started playing at Manhasset High School, not too far from the Lizards' home field at Hofstra. This sport is ready to explode and I am proud to be a part of it. It will be a bit of a homecoming for me and I am excited beyond words.

"Those of us who play lacrosse know that we do it for the love of the game, and simply for the love of the game," Brown continued. "So we're all in the same fraternity."

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Former Cincinnati Bengals tackle and Class of 1998 Pro Football Hall of Famer ANTHONY MUÑOZ is no stranger to giving back to his community. Muñoz has always believed strongly in the importance of education so it is no surprise that for the sixth consecutive year he served as emcee for the Hamilton County Education Foundation’s "Celebrate Excellence" breakfast.

The ceremony, which took place on Friday, May 25, honored the “Educators of the Year” from 23 area public school districts at the Sharonville Convention Center. In addition, sponsorship support for “Celebrate Excellence” provided annual scholarships to two K-12 educators who are pursuing their Master’s Degree in Special Education.

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Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame linebacker JACK HAM has recently joined the ownership group of the Johnstown (Pa.) Tomahawks. The Tomahawks are a new NAHL Tier II Junior A hockey team.

“Jack Ham, Hall of Fame linebacker, one of the greatest, toughest linebackers, who is a legend in Johnstown, grew up in Johnstown, has joined the ownership team,” the team’s majority owner James Bouchard said during a recent radio interview.

A native of Johnstown, Ham attended Bishop McCourt High School before playing college football at Penn State University. There he earned All-American honors in 1970 before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers as a second round draft choice in 1971.

“Again, Jack is legendary in the Johnstown area, so it’s a real privilege to have Jack as a part of the ownership group.” Bouchard continued, ““It’s very exciting for Johnstown to have someone like Jack Ham behind us. It’s really cool. His support will help us take off. With his local support it’s going to be huge.”
 

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Links Related to this story:

HOF Bios: Jim Brown | Jack Ham | Anthony Muñoz
More: Hall of Famers by High School | 1971 NFL Draft

Archived:

Issue 19 (May 25) | Issue 18 (May 18) | Issue 17 (May 11) | Issue 16 (May 4) | Issue 15 (April 27) | Issue 14 (April 20) | Issue 13 (April 13) | Issue 12 (April, 6) | Issue 11 (Mar. 30) | Issue 10 (Mar. 23) | Issue 9 (Mar.16) | Issue 8 (Mar. 9) | Issue 7 (Mar. 2) | Issue 6 (Feb. 24) | Issue 5 (Feb. 17) | Issue 4 (Feb. 10) | Issue 3 (Feb. 3) |  Issue 2 (Jan. 27) | Issue 1 (Jan. 20)