NFL Hall-of-Famer and Charlottesville hometown hero Roosevelt Brown has a street named after him, but he may soon have more than that. The City of Charlottesville, gently pushed by city resident John Gaines, sent a proposal to the New York Giants requesting funds to have signs placed along Roosevelt Brown Boulevard here in Charlottesville.
“He was a Hall-of-Famer, and I’m sure there’s plenty of tourists and even locals who don’t know who he was,” says Gaines, an active resident of the 10th and Page neighborhood who petitioned Council to rename the Ninth-10th Connector in honor of Brown.
“We received the proposal on September 12 and are seriously reviewing it,” says E. Peter John-Baptiste, Giants director of public relations. “Obviously he played a lot of great football for us.”
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Do you know who Roosevelt Brown was? If the Giants pony up, a sign would help make sure you do. |
Roosevelt Brown, often referred to as “Rosey,” played 13 seasons with the Giants as a fast and powerful blocker. He earned a starting role on the offensive line as a 20-year-old rookie after being honored as a Black All-American at Morgan State. Brown, who died in 2004, was named lineman of the year by the NFL in 1956.
The proposal included estimates for several different types of signs, but they would all cost in between $5,000 and $10,000 per sign. “Ideally, there would be one sign on each side of the street,” says Assistant City Manager Maurice Jones. “But the proposal is still preliminary.”
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