Many sports fans know Hank Brown better by voice than by appearance, thanks to an outstanding local radio and television broadcasting career that dates back a half century.

It is fair to say that Brown has "covered all the bases," from hosting early morning talk radio shows and calling local high school games, to covering the Olympics, high-profile boxing matches, and especially the annual Hall of Fame Game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

Born and raised in a big Irish Catholic family in Philadelphia, Brown earned his broadcasting degree from the Cambridge School of Fordham University. In January 1957, he packed his bags and landed a job at WLFH Radio in Little Falls. Despite taking his career down many avenues, and working for other area radio stations, he has made Little Falls his permanent home.

Also in 1957, Brown made his broadcasting debut at Cooperstown, and it has been a cherished annual summer ritual ever since.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota tapped Brown's talents too, beginning in 1990, its inaugural year. He has also announced World Wrestling Federation matches throughout upstate New York for 15 years. That led to a call from the USA Wrestling Federation to broadcast the 2001 Nationals in Orlando, Fla.

Most notably, he has been an announcer for countless professional and amateur boxing matches on the local, state and national levels, including the Empire State Games, The Turning Stone Casino in Oneida, the World University Games in 1992 and 2000, plus the CBS Sports Spectacular and ABC-TV's Wide World Of Sports. In addition, he broadcast water polo matches at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.

Brown is a past president of the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors. He is a member of the SUNY Institute of Technology Hall of Fame and the national Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

He has found time to devote himself to his community. He served as a Pop Warner football coach, president and commissioner in Little Falls, and coached a basketball team in the Apostle League. For the past 40 years, he has sponsored a Christmas party for needy and underprivileged children at Alfredo's Ristorante.

Recently, Brown received the Jefferson Award for Community Service from WTVH in Syracuse for his work as president of the Cornhill Senior Citizens Center.