January 6, 2020 at 6:24 p.m.
A legend gone
Portland native Darrel ‘Pete’ Brewster, two-time NFL champion, died Friday at 89
A legend gone
He was one of the leaders of the most successful basketball team in Portland High School history.
He played basketball and football at Purdue University.
He appeared in five NFL championship games, winning two with the Cleveland Browns.
He won a Super Bowl ring as receivers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Darrel “Pete” Brewster, the most accomplished athlete in Jay County history, died Friday at Belton Regional Medical Center in Belton, Missouri. He was 89.
Brewster, who lived in Peculiar, Missouri, about 30 miles south of Kansas City, was immortalized locally in 2012 when the football field at East Jay Middle School (formerly Portland High School) was named in his honor.
“I’m just proud of all of you making this happen,” the 1948 Portland High School graduate said during a ceremony at the field. “This is truly one of the best moments of my life.”
Brewster spent nine years as a player in the NFL and 13 as a coach in the AFL and NFL. It was a career that nearly never got started.
He was a sophomore in high school when the 1945 Portland Panthers were unbeaten, untied and unscored upon. But he wasn’t on the team.
“My family didn’t want me to play football, and you had to have a parent’s permission to play football,” Brewster said. “I had an older sister who finally signed my papers to play football.”
That happened during his senior year. And it changed his life.
In 1952, Brewster was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the second round of the NFL draft but then immediately traded to the Cleveland Browns. (He was also drafted by the NBA’s Milwaukee Hawks, but decided to go the professional football route.)
He played basketball and football at Purdue University.
He appeared in five NFL championship games, winning two with the Cleveland Browns.
He won a Super Bowl ring as receivers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Darrel “Pete” Brewster, the most accomplished athlete in Jay County history, died Friday at Belton Regional Medical Center in Belton, Missouri. He was 89.
Brewster, who lived in Peculiar, Missouri, about 30 miles south of Kansas City, was immortalized locally in 2012 when the football field at East Jay Middle School (formerly Portland High School) was named in his honor.
“I’m just proud of all of you making this happen,” the 1948 Portland High School graduate said during a ceremony at the field. “This is truly one of the best moments of my life.”
Brewster spent nine years as a player in the NFL and 13 as a coach in the AFL and NFL. It was a career that nearly never got started.
He was a sophomore in high school when the 1945 Portland Panthers were unbeaten, untied and unscored upon. But he wasn’t on the team.
“My family didn’t want me to play football, and you had to have a parent’s permission to play football,” Brewster said. “I had an older sister who finally signed my papers to play football.”
That happened during his senior year. And it changed his life.
In 1952, Brewster was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the second round of the NFL draft but then immediately traded to the Cleveland Browns. (He was also drafted by the NBA’s Milwaukee Hawks, but decided to go the professional football route.)
In nine seasons playing professional football, the 6-foot, 3-inch, 210-pounder caught 210 passes for 3,758 yards and 21 touchdowns. He led the NFL in yards per reception at 20.5 in 1957 and finished in the top 10 in receiving yards three times. His career highs for both receptions and yards came in 1954, his third season, with 42 and 676, respectively. He caught a career-best six TD passes in 1956.
The Sporting News named him a first-team All-Pro in 1957. He was a second-team All-Pro selection by The Associated Press, Newspaper Enterprises Association and UPI that same year, and had also been a second-team choice by the NEA in 1956. He was a Pro-Bowler in 1955 and ’56.
Brewster caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham in the Browns’ 56-10 blowout of the Detroit Lions in the 1954 NFL championship game.
In 2012, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ranked him 68th on the list of the best players in Browns history.
After playing his final two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he embarked on a 13-year career as a receivers coach for the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs. He was on the Chiefs’ staff in 1969 when they went 11-3, avenged two regular-season losses to the Oakland Raiders with a 17-7 win in the AFL championship game and then beat Minnesota 23-7 in Super Bowl IV.
Brewster, who was born Sept. 1, 1930, was a standout athlete dating back to his days in Portland, when he was one of the leaders of Panther squads that won three straight boys basketball sectional titles as well as the 1946 and 1948 regional championships. The 1948 squad advanced to the state’s final eight before falling to Muncie Central in the semi-state championship game. He was an Indiana High School All-Star during his senior season.
He went on to play both football and basketball at Purdue University.
Brewster was named MVP of the football team in 1951. On the basketball court, he appeared in 53 games, averaging 5.9 points.
He was inducted into the Purdue University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. (His Hall of Fame video is available at vimeo.com/13400821.)
“It’s a great honor,” Brewster told The Commercial Review following his induction. “It just means somebody along the line … has realized we have been put on a higher level of excellence.”
“When somebody thinks enough of you to put you on a higher level, it’s really an outstanding honor,” added Brewster, who is also a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 1976) and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (1998).
While he stayed in Missouri after his NFL coaching career, Brewster made regular trips back to his hometown to visit family and friends. He could be found on occasion strumming a guitar with pals at the American Legion hall.
Visitation for Brewster will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, Missouri. Services will follow at 2:30 p.m. Private burial will follow.
Additional obituary information will be available later this week.
The Sporting News named him a first-team All-Pro in 1957. He was a second-team All-Pro selection by The Associated Press, Newspaper Enterprises Association and UPI that same year, and had also been a second-team choice by the NEA in 1956. He was a Pro-Bowler in 1955 and ’56.
Brewster caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham in the Browns’ 56-10 blowout of the Detroit Lions in the 1954 NFL championship game.
In 2012, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ranked him 68th on the list of the best players in Browns history.
After playing his final two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he embarked on a 13-year career as a receivers coach for the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs. He was on the Chiefs’ staff in 1969 when they went 11-3, avenged two regular-season losses to the Oakland Raiders with a 17-7 win in the AFL championship game and then beat Minnesota 23-7 in Super Bowl IV.
Brewster, who was born Sept. 1, 1930, was a standout athlete dating back to his days in Portland, when he was one of the leaders of Panther squads that won three straight boys basketball sectional titles as well as the 1946 and 1948 regional championships. The 1948 squad advanced to the state’s final eight before falling to Muncie Central in the semi-state championship game. He was an Indiana High School All-Star during his senior season.
He went on to play both football and basketball at Purdue University.
Brewster was named MVP of the football team in 1951. On the basketball court, he appeared in 53 games, averaging 5.9 points.
He was inducted into the Purdue University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. (His Hall of Fame video is available at vimeo.com/13400821.)
“It’s a great honor,” Brewster told The Commercial Review following his induction. “It just means somebody along the line … has realized we have been put on a higher level of excellence.”
“When somebody thinks enough of you to put you on a higher level, it’s really an outstanding honor,” added Brewster, who is also a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 1976) and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (1998).
While he stayed in Missouri after his NFL coaching career, Brewster made regular trips back to his hometown to visit family and friends. He could be found on occasion strumming a guitar with pals at the American Legion hall.
Visitation for Brewster will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, Missouri. Services will follow at 2:30 p.m. Private burial will follow.
Additional obituary information will be available later this week.
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