Running Against the Grain: The Story of Philadelphia Eagle and Movie Star Timmy Brown

by Roy Weaver, David Sullivan, Shawn Sriver

Overview

Timmy Brown went from being a child of divorce living at an orphanage in rural Indiana to sports success at Ball State, where he is remembered as perhaps the school's greatest athlete. In the 1960s, he played pro football at Green Bay and in Philadelphia. More than 50 years after he left the Eagles, he still held four team records. He ended his career as a Baltimore Colt at Super Bowl III. And he wasn't just a jock.

His dream was to have equal success on stage, as a singer and actor. His recordings and live appearances scored in the Philadelphia area, and his acting career led him to roles in two of the most acclaimed movies of the 1970s. He was friends or romantic partners with top stars of his time -- among them Chubby Checker, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, and Elliott Gould. But as a Black man, he had to deal with the overt racism of his times. And his outspoken honesty didn't lead to continuing professional success. Yet he never quit, moving on to helping troubled youths in California, and establishing a family of his own while in his 50s.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940185190753
Publisher:	Eagle 22 LLC
Publication date:	10/04/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	13 MB
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About the Author

ROY WEAVER spent most of his career at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. where he completed a bachelor’s degree in English in 1968 and a master’s degree in curriculum in 1972. He taught at the high school level for one year in Kettering, Ohio, and for four in Muncie, Ind. He completed a doctorate in curriculum at Indiana University in 1975 and then taught at the University of Southern California. He returned to Ball State in 1980 and retired in 2020. During this time, he spent 10 years as associate dean and 19 as dean of Teachers College – the last three as interim. In 2021, he received the Teachers College Career Achievement Award and the Ball State University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award for his leadership and service to the university. He and his wife, Marilyn, live in Muncie, Ind.

DAVID SULLIVAN retired in 2020 as assistant managing editor, editing and standards for The Philadelphia Inquirer, a position he had held since 2012. He started there in 1983 and worked on the Sports, Features, Neighbors, and Metro desks until becoming assistant managing editor, copy desks, in 2001. He was a reporter and editor at three newspapers in Indiana and Michigan. He served as president of the Philadelphia Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists, and as a board member and officer of ACES: The Society for Editing. A native of Indianapolis, he is a 1975 graduate of Ball State University, of which he was named outstanding journalism alumnus in 2011. He also is a historian of department stores and wrote about them in the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. He and his wife, Betsy Anderson, live in Moorestown, N.J.

SHAWN SRIVER is the accreditation and assessment coordinator of Teachers College, Ball State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Indiana University in 1985 and a master’s degree in secondary education at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis in 1991. He taught English at Bremen (Ind.) High School, where he was named Teacher of the Year in 1989. He then taught English and journalism at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind. He worked for 17 years at the Indiana Department of Education, spending the last four years as director of the Division of Professional Standards, which dealt with the licensing and testing of educators for the State of Indiana. In 2009, he was named accreditation and assessment coordinator for Ball State. He and his wife, Tanya, live in Fishers, Ind.