Former NFL executive Joe Browne, who spent 50 years in the league office, will cap his career with a spot in the Hall of Fame.
Browne has been named the recipient of the Ralph Hay Pioneer Award. The prize is given periodically to a person who has made significant and innovative contributions to professional football.
“Joe Browne did a remarkable job representing the NFL during his extraordinary 50-year career with the league office,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press release. “I was fortunate to break in as an NFL intern under Joe. It was a terrific education. Joe was always a fierce protector of the shield, a demanding innovator, and he set the standard for effective sports P.R. He was a mentor. He is a friend, and he is most deserving of the Ralph Hay Pioneer Award that will preserve his place in NFL history.”
The Pioneer Award, previously named for Dan Reeves (it’s unclear why it changed), has been awarded only eight prior times in all.
In 1972, Fred Gehrke received the first Pioneer Award for devising the idea of helmet logos by painting horns on the Rams’ helmets. Arch Ward won the Pioneer Award three years later for coming up with the Chicago All-Star Game, which had the defending NFL champions face a team of collegiate all-stars.
Eleven years later, John Facenda won the Pioneer Award. (If you don’t instantly know who John Facenda was, that’s a shame.)
In 1992, David Boss won the prize for his work with NFL Properties and as a photographer. George Toma won it in 1991 for his groundskeeping efforts and innovations. Three years later, the entire city of Pottsville, Pennsylvania won the award for its support of the league and pride in the defunct Pottsville Maroons. In 2007, Steve Sabol won the Pioneer Award. In 2012, former NFL official Art McNally received the honor.
