Jackie Brown (8 November 1914 – 1990), also referred to as Johnny Brown or John Brown, was a dual internationalist who played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

for both Ireland teams – the IFA XI and FAI XI. He was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Ireland.

Club career

Brown was serving an apprenticeship in the linen trade and playing football for his works team, William Ewart & Son F.C., when he was spotted by

Belfast Celtic Belfast Celtic Football Club was a football club. Founded in 1891 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it was one of the most successful teams in Ireland until it withdrew permanently from the Irish League in 1949. The club left the league for polit ...

during the early 1930s. In 1934, while playing for Celtic, he was selected to play for the Irish League XI and he subsequently scored in a 6–1 defeat against an

English League XI The English Football League XI was a representative side of the Football League. The team regularly played against the Scottish Football League XI and other national league select teams between 1891 and 1976. For a long period the annual fixture b ...

. In December 1934, shortly after his 20th birthday, Brown signed for

English First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

side

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, making his debut on 12 January 1935 in a 4–0 win over Notts County 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 ...

. Although his time at Molineux saw him become an international, he failed to hold down a regular place at club level. He left in October 1936 to join fellow Midlanders

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

after just 31 appearances for Wolves (and 7 goals). He stayed at Coventry for just under two years, making 73 appearances, scoring 29 times. In September 1938 he joined

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. ...

and during the final season before the suspension of league football due to

World War A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

, 1938–39, he played 34 league games and scored 6 goals. He also played 4 games in the

and scored 1 goal. He remained with the club during wartime, making a further 28 wartime regional league appearances (scoring 7 times). As the war ended, Brown was playing for Barry Town. Then in May 1948, aged 33, he signed for

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, at the time playing in

Division Three 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 o ...

. He made his debut for Town away to Bristol Rovers on 21 August 1948. He subsequently made 106 competitive appearances and scored 27 goals for Town before retiring as a player in June 1951. He made his last appearance for the club against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

on 5 May 1951

International career

When Brown began his international career in 1935 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland – based

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...

and the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

– based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Brown played for both teams.

IFA XI

Between 1935 and 1939 Brown made 10 appearances and scored 1 goal for the IFA XI. Within three months of signing for

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

, he made his international debut for the IFA XI, against

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 a 2–1 defeat, on 6 February 1935. He scored his only goal for the IFA XI on 19 October 1935 in a 3–1 defeat to England. Brown played regularly for the IFA XI before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, making his last appearance on 15 March 1939 in a 3–1 defeat to

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 ...

FAI XI

In 1937, while playing for

, Brown also made 2 appearances and scored 1 goal for the FAI XI (forerunners of the

Republic of Ireland national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...

). However injury and controversy denied him the opportunity to add to this total. Brown was one of several players born in Northern Ireland who benefited from the FAI's attempts to establish their all-Ireland influence. He was first called up by the FAI for a game against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 17 October 1936 but he was injured at the time. In May 1937 the FAI organised a European tour with a squad that included Brown and two other Northerners, Davy Jordan and

John Feenan John Joseph Feenan (1 July 1914 – October 1994) was an Irish and Northern Irish footballer who played for Belfast Celtic, Sunderland and Shelbourne. As an international he also played for Ireland. In the 1940s he served as manager of Shelb ...

. Brown made his debut for the FAI XI on 17 May in a 1–0 win against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. A week later, on 23 May, he scored the second goal as the FAI XI defeated

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

2–0. This would prove to be his last appearance for the FAI XI. However, in May 1938, for another European tour, the FAI once again called up Brown, together with two other Northerners, Harry Baird and Walter McMillen. However this time the IFA objected and all three players received telegrams from the

English FA The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

ordering them not to accept the offer on the grounds they were not born in the

Sources

*''The Boys in Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Rya

*''Soccer at War – 1939 – 45'' (2005): Jack Rolli

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing GreatsIreland (FAI) stats Ipswich Town fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Jackie 1914 births 1990 deaths Barry Town United F.C. players Belfast Celtic F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Dual Irish international footballers Association football wingers Ipswich Town F.C. players Irish Free State international footballers NIFL Premiership players Association footballers from Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland international footballers from Northern Ireland Association footballers from Belfast Pre-1950 IFA international footballers English Football League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Irish League representative players