But Mark Wechter remembers the practices, the endless hours in the coaches' room, and one quiet moment before a long bus ride home from the Meadowlands.

Brown coached 21 seasons at Washington Township after seven at Paulsboro. He never had a losing record. His Minutemen won three South Jersey Group 4 titles and seven conference titles.

But Dan Spittal remembers sitting with the old coach at off-season clinics, absorbing wisdom, and contemplating his next practical joke.

Brown's teams made the playoffs 20 times. His 1992 Washington Township team went 11-0 and was ranked eighth in the nation by USA Today.

But Ralph Ross Jr. remembers the way his old coach could motivate a room full of teenagers and the way his approach inspired him to pursue the same field with the same passion.

"His philosophy is my philosophy," said Ross, a 1988 Washington Township graduate and the school's wrestling coach. "He meant everything to me. The things I learned from him I use every day in coaching, in education, and in raising my own children."

Wednesday night, Washington Township will rename its football field Tom Brown Field in honor of the coach, who died on Jan. 16, 2006, at the age of 61.

Dozens of Brown's former players are expected to attend a ceremony that will be held before Washington Township hosts Eastern in a Burlco/Olympic American Division clash.

"It's going to be emotional," said Spittal, Eastern's veteran coach. "Tom Brown is Washington Township football."

Brown's intensity, focus and attention to detail were among the secrets of his success. Those qualities also made him an easy target for Spittal's practical jokes.

One time in the mid-1990s, Brown was asked to leave the Willingboro home stands because of a silly rule about coaches' using the visiting stands for scouting. He didn't like the idea and let Willingboro officials know it.

A few days later, Spittal called Brown's house and left a message on the answering machine. He pretended to be a member of the Willingboro Kiwanis Club. He said the club had planned to honor Brown but was rescinding its award because of his unsportsmanlike behavior.

"This was in September," said Spittal, who was an assistant to Larry Ginsburg at Eastern at the time. "We finally played them in November and before the game, Larry and I walk up to Tom and I ask him, 'Tom, did you have a problem with the Willingboro Kiwanis Club?'

"They knew right away it was me. One of Tom's assistants, Gerry Taraschi, I thought he was going to fall on the field, he was laughing so hard."

Spittal loved to tease Brown because the old coach was so serious during the season. He was a different guy after November.

"I'd love sitting with him at clinics," Spittal said. "He was so jacked-up during the season. But in the off-season, you could learn so much from him, just about dealing with kids and building a program."

Ross said Brown was the rare coach whose demanding approach inspired his players to do their best for him.

"He was tough, but he let you know he would run through a wall for you," Ross said. "When we won the [South Jersey Group 4] title in 1987, we weren't ultra-talented. But he drilled us so hard, I think we had less than 20 penalties all year.

"He believed in us. He made us believe in ourselves."

Wechter, Washington Township's current coach, played for Brown and also served two stints as an assistant before replacing his old boss in 2006.

Wechter said Brown was passionate about football. But he understood that successful coaching involved a million things more than game day.

"Tom was passionate about the grind, the actual work involved in building a program," Wechter said.

Wechter remembers the 1995 season, when Brown was battling a serious stomach condition. It was a difficult year for the coach. But he guided the Minutemen to the South Jersey Group 4 title, clinched with a victory over Shawnee at Giants Stadium.

"I was sitting on the bus after the game," Wechter said. "Tom had been sick all year. He endured a lot of pain.

"We were getting ready to ride home, and Tom got on the bus and he sat next to me, and he put his arm around my shoulders and he said, 'We did it. We did it.'

"Everybody knew how tough he was. He was the legendary Tom Brown. But I got to see his softer side. That's what I remember most."

Wednesday night, they will name the field after Tom Brown. They will mention all those games, all those wins, all those titles.

And that won't be the half of it.

Contact staff writer Phil Anastasia at 856-779-3223 or panastasia@phillynews.com.