Former Spencer star Brownlee to be inducted into Benedict athletic hall of fame

Spencer High graduate and former NFL player Claude Brownlee has been thinking about being inducted into the Benedict College Athletic Hall of Fame for a long time.

The induction ceremony will take place Thursday night in a ceremony in Columbia, S.C.

"Someone from Alumni Affairs, which runs the Athletic Hall of Fame at Benedict, called me and told me, 'Congratulations, you're being inducted into the Hall of Fame,' " Brownlee said. " It's going to be a great time, and I'm looking forward to being able to share this with all the guys I played with who were as good as or even better than me."

Brownlee, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive tackle, was drafted out of Benedict by the Baltimore Colts in the 10th round (155th overall) of the 1966 NFL draft. He played one season with the Miami Dolphins in 1967.

"I was expecting this to happen years ago because I was the first player to ever play pro football from Benedict," Brownlee said. "I've got two minutes to speak and I'm going to spend one minute on how I feel about the Hall of Fame and the other minute being committed to doing the right thing, so it's going to be a good speech."

During his time in the NFL, Brownlee worked for the Washington, D.C., Recreation Department in the offseason in order to make ends meet. After he finished his pro football career, he worked for the recreation department for 22 years before retiring and moving to Charlotte, N.C.

"Back in the day, we had to supplement our income," Brownlee said. "Everybody had jobs after football season. My major in college was recreation and after football, I worked for Washington, D.C. Parks and Recreation Department for 22 years. In Charlotte, I started a business there with tuxedo rentals."

However, Brownlee's mother became ill and he returned to Columbus to take care of her. His mother passed away three years ago, but he has stayed in Columbus.

"This is where I came up, and I enjoy being here," said Brownlee. "What I found out is that no place is like home. It doesn't matter where you go, nobody is like the people you grew up with. I'm doing a lot of volunteer and community work and I spend a lot of time on the rivers and lakes fishing. It's a pleasure being back here and spending time with my old friends. We're promised three score and 10 years and I've lived that. Anything more than that is a blessing and I'm truly blessed."

Brownlee said he enjoyed his time playing for the Tigers. "The four years I spent at Benedict were great," Brownlee said. "I wouldn't change my decision to go there for the world."

This story was originally published October 22, 2014 at 10:44 PM.