BY: Brett Dawson

They say John William Rogan navigated Gallatin, Tenn., in a cart pulled by goats, and there are pictures to prove it.

The 8-foot-9 Rogan died in 1905 and remains the tallest African-American man ever. He’s still the stuff of legend in Tennessee, where they’ve long told tales of his booming voice and playful personality.

They tell Corey Brewer that’s where he got his height.

“I used to hear stories about him,” said Brewer, the Thunder’s new starting shooting guard. “My mom told us we had one of the tallest men ever in our family, and I remember thinking about that, because my mom is 5-4 and my dad was 6-foot.”

Brewer’s mother, Glenda, was a Rogan until she married a Brewer. John William Rogan was a cousin of her father’s. Her two sons, 6-foot-9 Corey Brewer and 6-foot-2 Jason Rogan, long have towered over her.

So maybe there’s something to the theory.

But Corey’s big personality? His quick wit and wide smile? That’s what people know him for, and Big John Rogan can’t get credit for that.

That came from Ellis Brewer.

Like father, like son

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