Robert Brown became involved while in high school with men’s softball in 1971, joining Mertz Bake Shop from Oak Park, Michigan in the Detroit area as statistician-coach. At that time, Detroit was a hotbed for softball with defending ASA Champion Little Caesar’s, Snyder’s, Dino’s Pizza, Daly’s Drive-In and other teams that appeared in national tournaments on a regular basis. The following year, 1972, Mertz was a charter member of the Detroit Major Metro Travel League and finished 4th in the USSSA Eastern World in Petersburg, Va. Robert later joined Stroh’s, Bert’s Blackhorse which finished 2nd to County Sports in the 1975 Stroh’s Invitational in Springfield, Ohio and Uniroyal which finished 5th in the 1976 USSSA World Series in Wyandotte, Michigan.
In 1977, after graduating University of Michigan where he was a student manager for the football and hockey teams, Robert joined Detroit Caesars of the American Professional Slo-Pitch League and became Assistant General Manager as well as administrator for the League Office in 1978. In 1979, Robert became Vice President of Marketing for the League and was responsible for procuring a contract with ESPN which televised the Pro World Series between Milwaukee and Kentucky as their first live network event.
Robert became Commissioner of the professional North American Softball League in 1980 and Executive Director of the National Slo-Pitch Conference in 1981. In 1982, he became General Manager of the Detroit Softball City Pro Team which lost to Milwaukee in the World Series. That turned out to be the last year of pro softball and the NSPC and Robert became Michigan USSSA Director 1982-83. He left softball to become General Manager of the Detroit Express Professional Soccer Team and attend law school. Robert was inducted into the Michigan USSSA Hall of Fame in 1990.
