PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — This is the story of a Philadelphia sports fan who let his voice be heard just as much as he was there for others: Ron Brett, also known as "Jabbo from Horsham."
“A loud personality,” says Jabbo’s daughter, Alexis. “You knew when he walked into any room. Whether you liked it or not, he took over that room. It was a loud but positive personality. You would just smile anytime you're around him. He could lift up the mood any place he was at.”
His wife Dorothy said for as loud as he was, his heart was louder.
Jabbo was a father to three girls, Alexis, Allison and Amanda, and grandfather to 10-month-old Sophia. He was a frequent sports radio caller, an accomplished basketball player from Bishop McDevitt High School and Susquehanna University, a retired beer salesman and a popular bus driver.
He was also a lifelong fan who had Eagles season tickets for over three decades.
“He screamed at them the whole game and then the next morning, he's defending every little bit of what they did,” Dorothy said.
And if he watched at home, Alexis said you would think he was at the stadium — screaming, standing up and yelling at the referees.
Dorothy fondly remembers that she would constantly say, “They can't hear you, Ron.”
In addition to his loudness and loyalty, he was an advocate for the fans.
“He knew that the fans made the difference, and if they had their loyalty to the Eagles, he wanted to make sure the Eagles had their loyalty to them,” Dorothy said.
He even proposed to Dorothy at an Eagles versus Cowboys game at Veterans Stadium in 1991 — a beautiful setup where Dorothy was sitting with Jabbo’s family at one end of the stadium and he was with his season ticket buddies at the other end. Dorothy needed binoculars to see a sign he made, which effectively popped the question. The rest is history.
“Our entire life together was all about the Eagles,” she said.
This past season, in particular, was quite meaningful. Shortly after seeing the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX, Jabbo became ill. And on March 19, just three weeks after his diagnosis, Jabbo died from pancreatic cancer. He was 69.
“He wasn't feeling great already, then,” Dorothy explained, “so we couldn't go anywhere and we weren't gonna do anything, so we watched it just as our family. I think when you watch such a big game like that in a small crowd, you get so many better memories out of what you're watching and who you're sharing it with.”
Like spending time with little Sophie, his granddaughter.
“I think [having a granddaughter] was his ultimate reason to fight at the end,” Alexis said. “That's all he talked about… That was his main “why.” He wanted more time with her.
It turns out Sophie was a rock for the entire family. She brought some joy and laughter to people who needed it during difficult times.
“He would light up,” said Dorothy. “He would light up the minute she walked in the room or the minute he heard she was coming.”
And naturally, Jabbo helped welcome Sophie to Eagles football, and did so during a championship season. Dorothy said they watched games together.
“He was teaching her the chant … She will have many pictures because we just continuously shot all those pictures to make sure we had those memories.”
In his final days, Jabbo was still following and talking about the Eagles. Sports were medicine, in essence. It gave him the energy to share his opinion about what general manager Howie Roseman should do in free agency. And even the start of March Madness, and filling out a bracket, gave him a boost.
Sports were very special to Jabbo, as were his loved ones.
“The only thing that overtook his sports fan was his family, and he was a number one family man,” Dorothy said. “He couldn't tell us enough how happy he was and how proud he was of all of us and how much he loved his family. When he was diagnosed, he said, 'I'll fight this, Doss, but if I die tomorrow, I want you to know that I've had the greatest life because of you and the girls.' He told everyone that. He was not shy about letting everyone know that our life together was the most important to him, and we're different people because of that too.”
And Dorthy says while it’s a new life without Jabbo and they miss him dearly, they will watch every Eagles, Sixers, Phillies and Flyers game and know he's sitting there with them.