John Brown was a Scottish professional

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 as an outside forward. Despite hailing from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, he started his career with

Broxburn Broxburn ( gd, Srath Bhroc, IPA: �s̪ɾaˈvɾɔʰk is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, on the A89 road, from the West End of Edinburgh, from Edinburgh Airport and to the north of Livingston. Etymology The name Broxburn is a corruption of " ...

, near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, and later played for Armadale in the Scottish Football League Second Division. He returned to his birthplace to join

Shawfield Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oatl ...

, before re-entering League football with

East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , in the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins ca ...

in August 1921. After a trial spell with

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

, Brown found himself with

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

in the Scottish Third Division. In 1925, he was signed by First Division outfit

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...

, and in a single season with the club he netted 7 goals in 21 first-team appearances. Following Morton's relegation from the top-flight in 1926, Brown left the club and moved to England in the hope of furthering his professional career. He had a trial spell with

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, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

in January 1927 but was not offered a contract, and the following month he began a loan spell at nearby Nelson. Due to the absence of

Buchanan Sharp Buchanan Sharp (2 November 1894 – 11 January 1956) was a Scottish professional association football, footballer who played for Clydebank Juniors F.C., Clydebank Juniors, Vale of Leven F.C., Vale of Leven, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspu ...

, who was suffering with influenza, Brown made his debut for Nelson in the

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North 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 South with clubs elected to the League or relegated In sports leagues, promotion and ...

match against

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

on 12 February 1927. He retained his place in the team for the following match, a 1–4 defeat away at

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, but did not feature again for Nelson after that game. In March 1927, Brown left Nelson and moved into English

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with Manchester Central.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John Footballers from Glasgow Scottish footballers Association football wingers Broxburn United F.C. players Armadale F.C. players Shawfield F.C. players East Stirlingshire F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Manchester Central F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Year of birth missing Year of death missing