John Brown’s name might not be familiar to boxing fans outside of Kansas City, Kansas, or those who don’t recall Brown’s time with Tommy Morrison from 1988 until 1993.
Morrison is just one of two professional fighters whom Brown has worked with as lead trainer and manager. The other is Marco Romero, 9-0 (8 KOs), a 19-year-old light heavyweight prospect from about half an hour away in Olathe, Kansas.
But Brown’s impact on the local community is significant. And that impact is why he has been honored by the Kansas City Royals baseball team, which bestowed the 78-year-old trainer with its Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat award.
At every home game, the Royals honor “those who make a difference in our community,” according to the team’s website. “While baseball was a large part of Buck’s life, his dedication to the Kansas City community is what truly defined him. His seat at Kauffman Stadium – the only red seat in the ballpark – marks the spot where he once sat, scouting future baseball stars.”
Brown runs a boxing gym for Kansas City’s Turner Recreation Commission and stages regular amateur fight cards. Brown also served stints as president and vice president of USA Boxing.
“Brown’s been self-funding the boxing program at Turner since creating it 16 years ago, and fight nights are now in their 12th year,” Ian Ritter wrote for Kansas City magazine in a 2024 article. “The trainer estimates about 10,000 kids have come through the program’s doors, and he’s helped coach them all and place them in tournaments. Brown pays for the bulk of Turner boxing’s operations out of his own pocket, including fighters’ flights and hotel rooms so they can compete at events across the country.”
The boxing gym will promote a pro-am show headlined by Romero on September 6, with portions of the proceeds going to support the boxing program as well as Safe Kids Johnson County.
The award Brown received is named after a baseball icon. Born in 1911, Buck O’Neil played and managed in the Negro Leagues, was the first Black coach in Major League Baseball, and held numerous roles in the sport throughout his life. He received national prominence for his role in Ken Burns’ famed “Baseball” documentary series.
O’Neil died in 2006 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.