Stanley "Grip" Brown

From The Great Outdoor Fight

Great Outdoor Fight Champion of 1966, and the father of Fauntleroy Brown.

Born and raised a Boston dockworker, Stanley Brown first gained his skill at fighting in the memorable Boston Underground Tavern Brawls of the early sixties. After a particularly memorable fight, he befriended fellow brawler Marquis Grant, in 1963. Grant, a veteran of the Fight (and future 1965 Champion), convinced Brown to join him at that year's fight. In 1963, Brown was eighth man standing before being taken down with a broken collarbone (by Fresh Freddy Fiero, who came in second that year). Grant attempted to come to Brown's rescue and was taken down by a rabbit punch from behind, thrown by that year's Grand Champion, Victor Shaw. Both recovered quickly, and the pair decided to return the following year -- less to win the Fight and more to exact their revenge on Shaw's underhanded (though legal) tactics.

It was at that 1963 Fight that Stanley Brown received the nickname "Grip," due to his unusual technique of grabbing an extremity of his opponent's, holding on "like the meanest damn vice you ever saw," in the words of one combatant, and spinning, shaking, slamming and otherwise throwing his enemies around like rag dolls.

In 1964, Shaw was on track to become the first repeat Champion when he was cornered on day three by Brown and Grant. The pair proceeded not just to eliminate Shaw (who was thirty-fourth left standing that year) but to intentionally cripple him, making it impossible for him ever to return. Shaw's followers targeted the pair. Over the course of the day, both men fell (Grant was eleventh left standing, Brown ninth).

In 1965, the pair made their third joint appearance in the Great Outdoor Fight. This time, both seasoned veterans of the Fight and unencumbered by revenge, the pair became two of the most prominent leaders on the field. Both easily making it to Day Three, the pair were in the last five standing. At that point, while Brown was occupied with Hector DeMedici, Grant saw an opportunity to eliminate his biggest threat -- Brown himself -- through surprise. Brown was therefore Fifth Man Standing that year. Grant went on to be Champion.

The pair had words off The Acres. Bad blood would remain between them for over nine years, but as it worked out they never faced each other again. A torn hamstring kept Grant out of the 1966 Fight, and after 1966 Brown retired.

However, he retired not only Champion that year, but among the most popular Champions the Fight had seen. A well spoken and charismatic tough guy, Stanley "Grip" Brown proved an excellent solo battlefield commander. He defeated his final opponent -- Fresh Freddy Fiero, the man who eliminated Brown three years earlier -- by palming Fiero's skull with his hand and squeezing. The pain was excruciating and Fiero surrendered -- though not before his nose was broken and his skull stress fractured in three places.

This evocative method of eliminating Fiero caught the attention of a promoter for the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Conference, and "Grip" Brown found himself in the squared circle. He was a popular attraction, with his "Indian Death Grip" finishing move later inspiring the Von Erich Claw, the Mandible Claw, and other similar moves. His geniality and general good camera presence led to a career with ABC's Wide World of Sports, where he covered toughman competitions, the World's Strongest Man, toughest bartender competitions and other expressions of virility. He was also often invited back to the Acres as an observer and commentator, though he never fought in the Fight again.

1966 was also the year that Brown's son was born, to Brown's wife of three years, Cynthia. Cynthia Brown was a child of privilege, and while she received no financial assistance from her family, her husband's popularity and shrewd financial skill kept the Browns at a level of affluence to which Cynthia was accustomed. Accordingly, she placed little Fauntleroy Brown in the finest schools, raising him to be a gentleman. Brown was just as happy to see his son groomed for a more genteel life.

It was cruel fate that Stanley Brown was at a public appearance in Florida at the time of the 1984 Fight, the year that -- unbeknownst to either Stanley or Cynthia Brown -- saw Fauntleroy Brown enter the Acres without qualifying, as Blood of Champion. After one of the worst Dutch fugues ever reported at the Acres, Fauntleroy Brown became Champion after killing or maiming 586 men. His mental faculties seriously compromised, Fauntleroy was committed to the Happy Dale Sanitarium for the Criminally Insane that same year. He remains there to this day.

Stanley Brown never recovered from his son's descent into insanity. He forswore all remaining association with the Great Outdoor Fight, and entered seclusion. While he did some color commentary for ESPN in the 90's, for the most part the gregarious "Grip" had left the public view. He died on October 3, 1997, of a stroke while in bed. His wife, Cynthia, released a biography of Stanley Brown entitled Keeping His Grip Tight in 1998. In 2001, Cynthia Brown sued the organizers of the Great Outdoor Fight for medical expenses related to her son's ongoing committal. Due to the nature of the release all participants in the Great Outdoor Fight sign, however, her case was dismissed without merit.