After spending several years calling play-by-play on Cincinnati Reds broadcasts, Brown worked for the Houston Astros from 1987 to 2016.

Brown also called Xavier Musketeers and Cincinnati Bearcats basketball and Cincinnati Swords hockey early in his career, and was a senior producer and anchor of the Financial News Network's SCORE programing and sports director of the Sports Time Cable Network.

However, he returned to call games for the Astros from May 1–4, 2017 due to the death of Kalas's mother, and Brown would work on a part time basis in community outreach with the Astros; Brown went into the announcing booth again in 2018 to fill in as the radio play-by-play for a three game series in june in place of Steve Sparks.

The Houston baseball media presented him with the Fred Hartman Award for Long and Meritorious service in 2012.

In 2013 Brown was voted Texas Sportscaster of the Year by the Texas voters in the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (now the National Sports Media Association) in Salisbury, N.C. On January 21, 2023, the Astros announced that Brown was to be inducted into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023 with former second baseman Bill Doran.

[7] June 28, 2007 – Brown was the play-by-play announcer for Craig Biggio's 3000th hit game in the 2007 Houston Astros season for the now defunct Fox Sports Houston, where Craig Biggio got his 3,000th hit in the bottom of the 7th inning to tie the game at four.LINE DRIVE, RIGHT CENTER FIELD!

He was calling the Astros-Rangers game when Marwin Gonzalez hit a go-ahead grand slam off Keone Kela.Deep drive, Right Field!

And the late inning magic continues at Minute Maid Park, a grand slam by Marwin Gonzalez.