Chad Brown: 1961-2014
Monday, 11 August 2014
We pay tribute to one of the best.
Chad Brown was never a man to stick to the sidelines. In his lifetime, he appeared in movies alongside A-list actors, won a major baseball league, and won over $3.6 million playing poker.
Growing up amidst his father's underground card room, Chad soon became well-versed in all things poker. He didn't take to the game straightaway – he was a promising athlete, and by his late teens he had devoted himself entirely to baseball, earning some major titles. Even with such success on the diamond however, Chad couldn't resist the siren call of Hollywood, and moved out there to try and make it as an actor.
A few films later, Chad was bored of the silver screen, and decided to turn his natural aptitude for games to another pursuit: poker. His sense of competitiveness flourished, and by the early '90s he was earning some serious money playing professionally. This, combined with his natural stage presence, landed him a job as a poker commentator, a role which he soon became well-known for.
Over his poker career, Chad racked up a total of 38 cashes at the World Series of Poker. He never won a bracelet, despite finishing second three times. Having said that, he lived just long enough to be awarded an honorary bracelet from WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel while lying in a hospital bed in New York. As the 2014 WSOP played out, friends brought the bracelet to Chad, who got the chance to wear it for a short time before his death.
Tributes to Chad quickly began pouring out from everyone who ever knew him in the poker community. One, from Barry Greenstein, was particularly fitting to Chad's good humour and resilience: “Chad Brown has left us,” tweeted Barry. “The last thing he told me was, 'I haven't had a sad day about this whole thing.' Who else could say that!” Greenstein was quickly flooded with comments from people telling him that, actually, Chad was still alive. “I hope Chad wakes up. He would think it's funny.” replied Barry, presumably with a smile on his face.
The size of Chad's contribution to poker can't be overstated. More than that, though, he was a kind, accomplished, and fiercely likeable man, who left his mark wherever he chose to go. He will be missed.