Arthur Alfred Brown (3 December 1858 – 1 July 1909) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in the 1880s. He was their first international player, making three appearances for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1882. Throughout his career he was known as "Digger" Brown.

Playing career

Brown was born in Spon End,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, the elder brother of

Albert Arthur Brown Playing career Albert Alfred Brown (7 January 1862 – 1930), Brown was a footballer in the early years of English professional football, who played for Aston Villa from 1884 until 1894. Albert and his brother Alfred played in the same forward ...

who would also go on to have a career as a footballer with Aston Villa. Arthur began his career playing for local junior sides including Aston Cross, Aston Unity and Aston Comrades before joining the most senior club in the area,

in 1878. His initial spell at Villa only lasted a few weeks before he left to join Mitchell St George's. Two years later, after spells with Birchfield Trinity and

Birmingham Excelsior Birmingham Excelsior Football Club was an English football club with a claimed foundation date of 1874. History The club emerged from an athletics club founded in 1869, which in turn was related to the Excelsior Works in Birmingham town centre. ...

, he re-joined Aston Villa. His favoured position was at

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

but he could play on either wing. Contemporary reports described him as "sturdy, though small, he could dribble through opponents with astonishing ease and grace." His first

cap came against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 18 February 1882 when he played alongside his Villa colleague

Howard Vaughton Oliver Howard Vaughton (9 January 1861 – 6 January 1937) was an England international footballer who played as an inside left. Vaughton played for England on five occasions, scoring six goals. Five of his goals were scored in a 13–0 victor ...

. England's 13–0 victory is still the team's largest ever win; the Villa forwards "totally dominated" scoring nine goals between them, with Vaughton scoring five and Brown four. Brown "seemed set for a lengthy career" but, although he played in the two other

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...

internationals against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

(both of which resulted in defeats) he was never again selected for England. His international career spanned 23 days, in which he played three matches scoring four goals. His club career was before the inception of

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and all Brown's club games were in friendlies and in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. During his Villa career he played 22 FA Cup matches, scoring 15 goals, often playing alongside his team captain,

Archie Hunter Archibald Hunter (23 September 1859 – 29 November 1894) was a Scottish Association football, footballer who was the first captain of Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa to lift the FA Cup, in 1887 FA Cup Final, 1887. He was one of Victorian football' ...

. By 1886, ill-health had forced Brown to retire and he therefore missed out on the inaugural Football League season. He continued to keep up an interest in Villa's affairs until he died on 1 July 1909, aged 50.

Professional baseball

In 1890 Brown played professional baseball for Aston Villa in the National League of Baseball of Great Britain.

References

External links

*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Arthur 1858 births Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands 1909 deaths English footballers English baseball players England men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Aston Unity F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Birmingham St George's F.C. players Birmingham Excelsior F.C. players