Having been the Athletic Director for Wellesley Public Schools for the past 20 years, John Brown has endless stories—some that he’s even willing to share—and there are many about him, too.
As I waited for Brown’s arrival at the Hunnewell Track & Field to interview him on his last week as AD, I ran into boys’ cross country coach Rick Cleary, and sure enough, he spilled a story about Brown, who announced in March plans to retire at the end of October. Cleary recalled a recent Wellesley High graduate who was a very good runner but also an outstanding musician. The student could have run varsity, but asked Cleary a couple of times if he could run JV instead so he could make it to music commitments. After the student won a couple of JV races that Brown attended, the bewildered AD asked Cleary: “What’s this kid got to do to make varsity?” To which Cleary replied, “He’s got to drop the violin.” Though the point Cleary stressed to me: “That’s an example of how John really pays attention to the kids.”
Brown arrived shortly thereafter, having hustled over from Wellesley Country Club, where the boys’ golf team was competing in the state championship. He was here to catch the end of the girls’ varsity soccer match, and to chat with me while riding in his signature golf cart—a request I made for a fun farewell and a chance to knock off a minor bucket list item for me.
Brown’s last day as AD is this Saturday, Oct. 31. Maybe he’ll keep his AD costume on for Halloween, but current assistant Chris McGrath will take over as interim AD. Brown said he’ll stick around for a “very part-time” gig to help McGrath through the rest of the school year, in part dealing with town or school officials on issues such as adding a scoreboard to the baseball field at Sprague Fields. Oh, and Brown said the driver seat in the golf cart will remain his.
I hopped in the cart, and it took less than a minute for a bit of excitement. We smelled smoke, and sure enough, we spotted a man puffing away at the end of the bleachers. Brown tooled over there and asked him to stop, citing the rule against smoking on school grounds.
@swellesleyreportRiding the golf cart with retiring Wellesley Public Schools Athletic Director John Brown♬ original sound – swellesleyreport
We then rolled over to a corner of the track near the Wellesley goal, and talked about the past and future for the one-time Natick baseball coach and player who crossed the border to lead a Raiders’ sports program that’s won 47 state titles on his watch. Brown said he served on the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s (MIAA) sports management committee for years with people whose schools had never won even a single title, yet were making decisions on what state championships should look like.
“I’m gonna really miss this. This has been a great place to work,” said Brown, who added that he’s never been the type to put a days-left-on-the-job countdown on a whiteboard, as he’s seen some do over the years.
“Not too much drama I asked?” knowing full well what the answer to that would be.
“There’s been a ton of drama. Just stuff you wouldn’t believe unless you were there,” he said. “But you’re going to have to read my book for that…”
“Really, you’ve got enough for a book?” I asked.
“I’ve been keeping track…,” he assured, while sharing a story off the record that indeed was a doozy and should probably go straight to film
One amusing incident he did share was getting pulled over by a cop for driving the golf cart—without a license plate—from Hunnewell Field over a bridge to Sprague Field. “I was responding to a report of a kid who had broken his leg while playing lacrosse… I asked the police officer if we could deal with the golf cart situation later,” he said.
About the golf cart: “It’s one of the first things I bought when I started.” That cart, purchased in 2006, replaced a broken one used by the trainer at the time to help her quickly get from field to field to treat student-athlete injuries.”
Another cart, purchased in 2008 and our vehicle on this day, allowed Brown and staff to cover more ground efficiently when going between events at the school and on the fields.
“I want to be at everything,” he said.
The carts do double duty as well in helping to transport grandparents or those with mobility issues to their vehicles after games.
Brown spoke about some of the big changes during his time as athletic director, including what’s ballooned into a multi-billion dollar youth club sports business. Wellesley has lost plenty of good student-athletes to such programs in the quest for sports stardom. And while a handful of them were talented enough that this was good move in Brown’s opinion, many others would have been better off enjoying their high school experience as part of the strong program at Wellesley High. Sports clubs attract the very best hockey and other athletes, who get to join for free, while the next tier of hopefuls pay full freight, he said. A trickle-down effect, he said, is that private schools then scoop up the next tier of student-athletes.
“Go and enjoy your high school experience because you’re not going to get another one like this again,” he said, every so often interrupting our conversation to offer game commentary (“I can’t believe that ball stayed in” and “Look at that thing, it hit the crossbar…”).
During Brown’s tenure at Wellesley Public Schools, he has proudly highlighted the high percentage of students who participate in athletics. He’s also enjoyed the arrival of new teams, including girls’ golf, boys’ volleyball, gymnastics, and cheer as a formal program. He wouldn’t be surprised to see others added in years to come given the growing popularity of sports such as ultimate frisbee and girls’ flag football.
“We always say ‘start out as a club’ when interest is expressed in a new sport,” he said.
Girls’ golf actually grew out of a senior project, said Brown, who at one point along with a colleague was running senior projects at the school.
See also: Short on players, Wellesley High girls’ hockey team joining forces with Lincoln-Sudbury (Dec. 4, 2025)
While Brown immediately will begin working some part-time hours for Wellesley Public Schools, his other future plans are less well defined.
His most important job, Brown said, is taking care of his wife, Jennifer, who has Huntington’s disease, a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder. Being able to work from home while doing some of the part-time work will be a big help here, he said.
On Monday, Brown’s first day of retirement, the 60-year-old said he’s actually teaching an MIAA class for new athletic directors
Brown also has been encouraged over the years to get into the consulting game. He was speaking with a principal from another school earlier this year who said there are experts who come in to work with superintendents and principals, but not really athletics, and the principal said “that’s where a lot of our problems come from.” When Wellesley High has had issues with coaches, Brown said parents have been all over it.
What Brown hasn’t had issues with are some of Wellesley’s better known parents—such as those who have played or worked for the Boston Celtics. Just before we got into the golf cart Celtics President of Operations Brad Stevens had walked by, and his wife Tracy gave us a friendly hello after the game (their daughter is a captain on the girls’ soccer team). “If every parent in every community was like them the high school athletic experience would be unbelievable… they’re always support, always positive,” Brown said.
After the girls’s soccer team finished its business, a 6-1 victory over Framingham, one of the refs walking by called out “Mr. B. We’ll miss you.”
We then did a drive-by past Coach Dave Wainwright and the players, who got a “nice job” from Brown, as we rode off into what remained of the sunset.
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