Former Cincinnati Bengals owner and founder Paul Brown had a monument in his memory unveiled in his hometown of Norwalk, Ohio on Saturday after 22 months of planning.
According to Mark Hazelwood of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there was a large turnout for the event, which had about 500 people there to see the newly named Paul Brown Park.
Paul H. Brown, the owner’s youngest grandson and the current Vice President of Player Personnel for the Bengals, made comments at the event, and was joined by Bengals Pro Football Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz.
Here’s some of what they said at the event:
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to be here today,” Brown said. “It feels really good. My grandfather was an amazing person. To know that Norwalk felt that he was such an amazing person to do something like this is incredible.”
“Paul Brown gave me an opportunity after a lot of teams weren’t going to touch me because of the injuries,” Munoz said. “They took a chance. I’m sure a lot of Bengals fans couldn’t understand it at the time. That was an incentive for me to prove they made the right decision.
“To be in Norwalk for the statue unveiling of Coach Brown along with the Brown family, Jim Smith (Hall of Famer Relations), and a guy I competed against in Garin Veris — this is a really special day.
“I’m thankful Paul Brown gave me the opportunity to be in the special fraternity of the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The man was amazing. It was 11 years I got to spend my career around him, and the history and information we learned from him was invaluable and priceless.”
Pro football wouldn't be what it is in the state of Ohio without Paul Brown, the co-founder and namesake of the @Browns who later founded the @Bengals.
In Brown's hometown of Norwalk, Ohio, a monument in his memory was unveiled on Saturday.
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— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) October 23, 2023
