Charles Brown (14 January 1898 – 2 February 1979) 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 ...

who played at outside-right for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

in the 1920s.

Football career

Brown was born in Stakeford,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

and played for his local non-league side where he was spotted by a scout from

. He signed for the "Saints" in March 1920, and played the last three Southern League matches in April/May 1920, playing at

inside-right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

alongside Arthur Dominy and Jimmy Moore. Under manager

Jimmy McIntyre James Alfred McIntyre (31 October 1881 – 1954) was an English footballer who became manager at Southampton, Coventry City and Fulham. Playing career McIntyre was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire. He was a journeyman player of some repute ...

, the Saints were admitted into Division 3 of the Football League in 1920, in common with most clubs in the Southern League Division One. Brown made intermittent appearances in the early part of the season, but in December he was dropped following a poor game at

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in t ...

. He was re-called to the side in March, taking over at outside-right from

Joe Barratt Josiah Barratt (21 February 1895 – April 1968) was an English professional footballer who played as a winger for various clubs in the 1920s. Playing career Barratt was born in Bulkington, Warwickshire and played his early football with loc ...

and retained his place for the rest of the season. In 1921–22, Brown was used as cover for Barratt and was in and out of the side until Barratt was sold to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

in March, when Brown made the No. 7 shirt his own. In the following season, Brown was a permanent fixture until early December when an injury caused him to miss a month, with Robert Blyth taking over. Brown regained his place in January for the rest of the season, and also played an important part in the Saints'

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 ...

run, where they reached the Fourth Round going out to eventual cup winners,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

after two replays. Brown was described as a "''quick and crafty''" winger, whose play "''had a subtle way of drawing a defence before centring''". Unfortunately for the Dell faithful, his best play tended to come in away matches and the Dell crowd seemed to unsettle him. For the start of the 1923–24 season, Brown lost his place to

Sammy Meston Samuel William Meston (30 May 1902 – 12 October 1953) was a professional footballer who played as a winger for Tranmere Rovers as well as for Southampton, Gillingham and Everton. Playing career He was the son of a former Southampton player ...

, but regained his place after the first six matches before new signing Bill Henderson took over in November. In August 1924, Brown moved to

where he had two good seasons before dropping down to non-league football.

Later career

In 1926, Brown returned to

to live and took up employment with

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of jet-powered fighter aircraft after World War II ...

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

, before joining

Vosper Thornycroft VT Group is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VT Group was integrated into Babcock International in t ...

in 1936 where he remained until his retirement in 1967.

Honours

Southampton *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

champions: 1921–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Charlie 1898 births 1979 deaths People from Stakeford Footballers from Northumberland English men's footballers Southampton F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Poole Town F.C. players Men's association football forwards English Football League players Southern Football League players