Boxing was Bill Brown's passion says son (From York Press)

Boxing was Bill Brown's passion says son

11:50am Wednesday 11th April 2012 in Boxing

MICHAEL Brown, the son of coaching legend Bill Brown, said boxing was a consuming passion.

“He absolutely loved the sport and I reckon if you broke him in half you’d probably find a set of pads and a punching bag,” said Brown junior.

“Boxing was his passion. Even when he had given up at the boxing club he would invite anyone who wanted to to have a little training and sparring in the back garden.”

Originally from Sunderland, Brown was a talented schoolboy and amateur boxer in the North-East before he and his family were evacuated to Hull during the Second World War.

Brown served in the Hull trawling fleet and later in the Merchant Navy.

He also completed his national service, seeing action in both Korea and Malaya.

After his marriage to Margaret, he settled in York in 1960, lately living in Huntington.

He worked in a variety of jobs, including as a milkman for Northern Dairies, before he retired from York University, where he worked as a porter and also in the post room.

The coach is survived by wife Margaret, son Michael, daughter Pauline, and two grand-daughters, Lucy and Katie.

The date and venue of the funeral has yet to be determined.