Street named to honor family

WARREN TOWNSHIP -- Those traveling along Tod Avenue SW will now notice that Sixth Street SW has been officially named "Sixth Street Browner Way" as a tribute to a well-known family who grew up there.

The street was dedicated Saturday with large signs at both ends of Sixth Street in honor of the Jimmie and Geraldine Browner family whose sons were well established in both local football and professional football.

More than 50 people gathered at the intersection next to Shadi's Convenient Store and across the street from Jefferson PK-12 Elementary School.

A covering over the sign was removed to reveal the information about the family on it.

The six Browner brothers are Ross, Jimmie, Willard, Joey, Keith and Gerald, as well as two sisters, Burdette and Olivia.

Out of eight children, all six sons were high school football All-Americans, with five of them playing professionally.

Today, only Willard Browner of Dayton and Burdette Browner Vaughn of Stockton, California, survive.

Willard Browner said Sixth Street is where it all started as his parents raised him and his siblings in the Warren Township neighborhood.

"When we were kids, we ran up and down these streets and up and down this road. I always had dreams and visions of coming back here and seeing what we had learned and the opportunities that we had and what we did in this community. I live in Ohio and when I have the opportunity to come back to Warren, I enjoy it. I appreciate that my family is here with me today," Browner said.

He said he will never forget his childhood.

"To come back and see all the people who came out and shared the opportunity we have and to have this named after my family, is a blessing. I thank everyone for naming the street after my family." Browner said.

Vaughn said in the last few years, she and Willard have lost all their siblings.

"We appreciate all this. It is wonderful. I am thankful this road is still open. We want our family to see where it all started. There have been a lot of changes because Warren Western Reserve is not here anymore but my elementary school is here,'' she said.

Vaughn said their father built the house on Sixth Street in 1965 and it was big enough for all of them.

She said her family toured the Warren schools wellness center and was very impressed.

"It is so beautiful. I was amazed when I saw it,” she said.

Vaughn said she was the middle child. Vaughn said she remembers she and her siblings walking along Sixth Street to get to the convenience store and also to elementary school.

Warren Township Trustee Chairman Ed Anthony said the dedication ceremony to honor the Browner family is long overdue.

"This family has touched so many lives, not only through athletics but in so many other ways. Very few families have had such an impact and influence as the Browner family has had over the years in the township and surrounding communities. The Browner family's achievements have built a strong base here. What your family has done has inspired so many minds and changed so many hearts. The Browner family has represented our community in such a positive way and helped put the name Warren, Ohio on the map," Anthony said.

He said over the years, a representative of the Browner family would attend the local youth football summer camps.

Warren Township resident Darryl Parker, who helped coordinate the sign dedication, said he spoke with trustees about the idea of naming Sixth Street to the Browner family.

"This has been a labor of love. I thank all who helped bring this to fruition. If everyone could model themselves after the Browner family, we would not have half the problems we have today," Parker said.

Warren Mayor Doug Franklin said "This is a special day for our community and the partnership between Warren and Warren Township to make this possible.''

He described the Browner family as the "the first family of football in Ohio."

"It is important that we remember their legacy," Franklin said. "I want everybody and the city of Warren, particularly, to thank each and every one of you for coming out to celebrate with this great family. We're very pleased and honored to sort of memorialize that legacy."

Mark Hampton of Cleveland said he and Joey played fifth- and sixth-grade basketball together at Warren schools.

"We played high school football together until 1978," Hampton said.

Norm Henderson of Columbus, who is a Warren native, said he and Hampton knew Joey and Keith when they were all in school together and played high school football with them at Warren Western Reserve High School.

"I would visit Keith in Tampa when he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I would also on occasion see Joey. It is great the family is being honored in this way,” Henderson said.