Duel Copeland Trophy winning defender James Clement also received Honourary Life Membership but was unable to travel from Western Australia for the evening.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for Brown, who retired after 246 games for three clubs.
Click to watch Leigh Brown's Honourary Life Membership acceptance speech.
“When Eddie called, I was a little bit surprised to be honest. I’m really humbled and very honoured to be up here in front of all you guys and the Collingwood people,” Brown told the Collingwood members.
“To Geoff Walsh and Michael Malthouse for giving me the opportunity when it all seemed gone and to have faith and trust in what I can do and what I could offer, and for being brutally honest with me, it really shaped the last three years and gave me a fantastic opportunity”.
Starting his career with Heyfield and later the Gippsland Power, Brown was drafted to Fremantle with selection No. 5 in the 1999 National Draft.
He played 63 games for the Dockers over three years before being traded to North Melbourne, where he added a further 118 games to his career tally.
Written off as nothing more than a journeyman by most in the football industry, Brown was delisted by the Kangaroos at the end of 2008. He became one of Mick Malthouse’s masterstrokes when he was drafted by Collingwood with selection No. 73 in the 2008 National Draft.
After a slow start, Brown cemented his place in the team in 2009 and went on to play 19 games in the club’s charge to the premiership in 2010.
Brown’s role in the 2010 flag is now entrenched in football folklore. At 194cm, he revolutionised the way ruckmen are perceived with his ability to play mostly at full forward while giving star ruckman Darren Jolly relief around the ground.
His lionhearted performances quickly won over the Collingwood faithful as he used his strong frame and fierce courage to kick 21 goals and lay 78 tackles for the season.
He bowed out after the Grand Final loss to Geelong the following year, and made a quick transition into life after football as an assistant at Melbourne.
The night’s second inductee John Greening is recognised as one of Collingwood’s great champions. He played 107 games and kicked 70 goals over the course of eight seasons at Victoria Park.
Click to watch John Greening's Honourary Life Membership acceptance speech.
A classic goal kicking wingman, Greening was recruited to Collingwood from Bernie, Tasmania, and debuted as a 17-year-old in 1968.
He was leading the Brownlow Medal count in round 14, 1972, when he was felled behind play against St Kilda at Moorabbin Oval. Greening was severely concussed, and missed more than two years of football.
He made a triumphant return in round nine, 1974, gathering 24 possessions against Richmond.
Greening only played eight VFL games over the course of the next two and a half years, opting to retire from Collingwood at the conclusion of 1976.
He ended his career with two J.J. Joyce Trophies (1970, 1972) as third in the E.W. Copeland Trophy, and remains an all time favourite of the Collingwood fans for his entertaining style of play and his ability to overcome severe adversity.
Greening told the crowd that to be elevated into the pantheon of Collingwood greats would live with him forever.
“To be linked with Bobby Rose, to be linked with Kevin Rose, the Weideman’s - the great Collingwood people - is a privilege, it’s an honour. I feel very humbled and I thank Eddie and co. for this honour.
“Collingwood, to me, was all I knew since I was ‘that’ high when I came across from Tasmania at 15-years-old”.
Champion defender Clement was the third inductee, but could not be present to receive his award as he was at home in Western Australia.
The defender began his career with Fremantle in 1996. He was traded to Collingwood ahead of the 2001 season along with Brodie Holland.
Clement played 146 games for Collingwood between 2001 and 2007 (on top of 84 for the Dockers), peaking in 2004 and 2005 when he won back-to-back Copeland Trophies and was twice an All-Australian.
Clement’s leadership could never be underestimated, nor could his ability to blanket both tall and small opponents. He regularly put the clamps on players such as James Hird and Phil Matera, and retired still near the top of his game in 2007.
Special Service Awards were received by Bernie Murphy (long time member of the Collingwood Archives Committee), Brian Grace (official club doorman) and Julian Feller (club doctor), who have all served the club with distinction in various roles for decades.
