Robert Neilson Brown (19 August 1870 – 17 August 1943), sometimes misidentified as J. Brown, was a Scottish

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 lea ...

whose career included periods at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

and

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Club career

Brown was born in

Port Eglinton A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manchest ...

in the south of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, but moved with his family to Halfway, a district of

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

, during his childhood. He began his senior career as an at local club

Cambuslang F.C. Cambuslang Football Club was a Scottish football club, based in the Cambuslang area (Greater Glasgow). Cambuslang was one of the founding members of the Scottish Football League, but left the league after just two seasons. History The club ...

who were founder members of the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

in 1890. He signed for

The Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

before the club gained admission to the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

in 1892, making a name for himself when scoring in a 4–1 defeat of League side

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

shortly after arriving in January of that year. He went on to make 45 appearances in Wednesday's first two League seasons and, after a brief spell back in his native Scotland with

Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...

, he then joined Bolton Wanderers in 1895, moving to a more defensive role and latterly operating as a capable reserve in almost any outfield position as needed; he made 149 appearances at

Burnden Park Burnden Park was the home of England, English association football, football club Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers, who played home games there between 1895 and 1997. As well as hosting the 1901 FA Cup final replay, in 1946 it was the sc ...

, 94 of them in the top flight. Brown also briefly had a loan spell at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in 1897, making four appearances but was unable to save them from relegation. He retired in 1902 and settled in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

International career

While a teenager at Cambuslang, Brown was selected once for the Scotland national team against

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

in 1890. The following year he played for the

Glasgow FA Founded in 1883, the Glasgow Football Association, based in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and affiliated to the national Scottish Football Association, is one of the List of Football Associations by date of foundation, oldest such bodies in footb ...

in their annual challenge match against

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

,Sheffield V. Glasgow
, The Glasgow Herald, 12 January 1891 (via Partick Thistle History Archive) and after moving to that city he featured in a 'Midlands v North' representative fixture.

References

;Sources * Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Footballers from Glasgow Footballers from Cambuslang Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Burnley F.C. players 1870 births 1943 deaths Third Lanark A.C. players Men's association football inside forwards Men's association football central defenders Cambuslang F.C. players Scottish Football League players Football Alliance players English Football League players 19th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-defender-1870s-stub