James Brain (11 September 1900 – 1971) 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 ...

. Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Brain started his career playing in Wales, having an unsuccessful trial at Cardiff City, before gaining a regular place at

Ton Pentre Ton Pentre () is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historically part of Glamorgan, Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the community of Pentre. The old district ...

. In 1923, he moved to Arsenal, and in his eight years with Arsenal became one of the club's most successful goalscorers. After a year in the reserve side, Brain started his Arsenal first-team career with a goal on his debut, a 1–0 win against local rivals

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

on 25 October 1924. Brain was a prolific striker throughout his career, and was the club's top scorer for four seasons in a row, from 1924–25 to 1928–29; this included 39 goals in the 1925–26 season (second only to

Ted Drake Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as wel ...

's haul of 45 in 1934–35), which included four hat tricks. The next season, 1926–27, Brain scored 34 goals, this haul including two four-goal tallies against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

. Brain's goalscoring feats helped Arsenal reach their first

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 ...

final, in 1926–27, though a mistake by

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Dan Lewis meant Arsenal lost 1–0 to Cardiff City. However Brain's form dropped and in 1929–30 he lost out in competing for the front spot with Jack Lambert, David Jack and

Dave Halliday David Halliday (11 December 1901 – 5 January 1970) was a Scottish association football player and manager. He achieved numerous distinctions and high rankings as a prolific goal-scoring forward with six senior clubs; St Mirren, Dundee, Sunde ...

all getting the nod ahead of him, meaning Brain only played six league matches this season. Brain therefore missed Arsenal' 1930 Cup final win over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

; Jack and Lambert led the line that day. He played in Arsenal's 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Charity Shield at Stamford Bridge in October 1930. The following season,

1930–31 Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...

, Brain finally won a medal after playing sixteen matches (scoring four goals) in Arsenal's very first First Division title-winning season. Brain's final appearance in an Arsenal shirt was a 2–0 win over

on 21 March 1931. By now, Brain's age was catching up with him, and he had been overtaken in the goalscoring stakes by both Lambert and Jack. He left Arsenal for Tottenham for £2,500 in September 1931, becoming one of the few players to have moved directly between the two rival clubs. In total, he scored 139 goals in 232 appearances for Arsenal, making him Arsenal' joint-fifth top scorer of all time, and he was the first player ever to score 100 goals for the club, a feat he achieved in a 6–3 win over

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

on 7 March 1928. However, he never played 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 ...

; he managed to secure a trial for the national team but was never actually selected. By the time Brain had joined Spurs he was in his thirties, and only played 47 times for them, scoring 10 goals, before leaving in 1934. He played his final years out at Swansea Town and

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 ...

. After retiring as a player, Brain managed first King's Lynn and then

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

from 1937 until 1948. During the war Brain briefly turned out for

. He returned to his role as

manager until 1948, after which he retired completely from football. He died in 1971, at the age of 71.

Honours

As a player

Arsenal * Football League First Division:

* FA Charity Shield:

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

runner-up: 1926–27

As a manager

Cheltenham Town * Gloucestershire Northern Senior Professional Cup: 1939–40

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brain, Jimmy English footballers English football managers Arsenal F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players King's Lynn F.C. managers Cheltenham Town F.C. managers 1900 births 1971 deaths English Football League players Footballers from Bristol Association football forwards FA Cup Final players Ton Pentre F.C. players