Posted: April 12, 2007

Athletics: USATF News & Notes, Volume 8, Number 31

U.S. stars to compete at Maui "Big-Wind" Discus Challenge Many of America's finest throwers will take part in the inaugural Maui "Big-Wind Discus Challenge at the historic War Memorial Stadium Complex in Wailuku, Hawaii. The event will take place on Saturday, April 14 and Monday, April 16, and will be organized by the Iron Wood Throwers, an Idaho-based non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of U.S. athletes and coaches in track & field throwing events. U.S. Olympians slated to compete include Stephanie Brown-Trafton, Casey Malone, Suzy Powell-Roos, Jarred Rome and Ian Waltz. Other top U.S. throwers competing include Cecilia Barnes, Becky Breisch, Karl Erickson, Beth Mallory-Lesch and Nick Petrucci. "We look forward to providing a one-of-kind competitive experience for these great athletes," said Iron Wood Throwers founder Bart Templeman. "With its ideal climate and strong prevailing winds, there is simply no other place in the world that can rival Maui in its ability to provide such great natural resources for elite discus throwing." For more information on the Maui "Big-Wind" Discus Challenge, visit: www.ironwoodcamp.com. Accomplished track athlete/actor Roscoe Lee Browne dies A national champion runner, who later became a distinguished stage and screen actor admired for his distinctive voice, Roscoe Lee Browne died Wednesday morning at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from cancer. He was 81. The National AAU Indoor champion at 1,000 yards in 1950 and 1951, Lee Browne's five team points at the 1951 Indoor Nationals helped the New York Pioneer Club win its historic and ground-breaking first Indoor National team championship. Along with victories by Ed Conwell in the 60 meters and Hugo Maiocco in the 600m, Browne's triumphin the 1,000 was a key ingredient in the Pioneer victory. He finished a close second in the 1/2-mile to 2-time Olympic 800-meter champion and National Track & Field Hall of Fame member Mal Whitfield at the 1951 U.S. Outdoor Championships, and an excellent European tour earned him a #2 world ranking by Track and Field News that year. He also finished third in the 880y at the 1946 NCAA Championships while attending Lincoln University (Pa.).Browne traveled to New York in February to attend the Gala for the 100th Millrose Games at the Rainbow Room. Howard Schmertz, the longtime Millrose director, was sitting with his back to Browne at the Gala when he heard that booming voice and said, "That's got to be Roscoe Lee Browne!" The two then had a long conversation about the "good old days". Schmertz remembers Browne giving the "greatest speech I ever heard" when he MC'd an affair honoring his coach at the NY Pioneer Club, Joe Yancey. "He was mesmerizing", said Schmertz. Known for his acting prowess on stage and in films, Lee Browne appeared twice on the sitcom "All in the Family" and had a recurring role on "Soap." He appeared regularly on a number of television series, including "A Different World" and "Law and Order," and in 1986 he won an Emmy Award for an episode of "The Cosby Show."