Alexander White Brown (21 December 1877 – 6 March 1944) was a
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
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 ...
.
Career
Brown was a prolific scorer in Scottish youth football, and earned his nickname as the "Glenbuck Goalgetter" as a 16-year-old playing for
Glenbuck Athletic.
[ Turning professional with St Bernard's two years later, he was soon induced across the border to ]English football
Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest ...
with Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
.[ After three years, his career continued with ]Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, then Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
.
During the 1900–01 season, Brown scored 15 goals during Tottenham's 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 ...
run, including a goal in every round, which resulted in the club becoming the only non-League
Non-League football describes association football, 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 ...
team to win the Cup. Brown scored both of Tottenham's goals in the first Final against Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
, a 2–2 draw; in the replayed match he scored another as Spurs beat United 3–1 to win the Cup.[ In total, during his brief spell at Tottenham, Brown scored 64 goals in just 84 domestic games. He also played in the 1901–02 World Championship fixtures against Hearts, lining up alongside ]Sandy Tait
Alexander Gilchrist Tait (3 December 1871 – 6 April 1949) was a Scottish professional footballer who played full back for teams including Glenburn Athletic, Ayr, Royal Albert F.C., Rangers, Motherwell, Preston North End, Tottenham Hotspur, Le ...
who came from the same Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
mining village, Glenbuck
Glenbuck () is a small, remote village in East Ayrshire. It is nestled in the hills east of Muirkirk, East Ayrshire, Scotland.
Glenbuck Loch
The site of the village was slightly to the north-west of Glenbuck "Loch", on the River Ayr, and w ...
.[Hotspur Towers - Sandy Brown]
India Spurs, 13 September 2017
A spell back at Portsmouth and a time at Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
followed before Brown settled at Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
in 1905.[ After 33 goals in 69 league games, Brown left for ]Kettering Town
Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...
before returning to Scotland with first Nithsdale Wanderers, then Ayr United
Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...
.
Brown won one cap for Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, in a 1–0 defeat by England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
during the 1903–04 British Home Championship
The 1903–04 British Home Championship football tournament was a low-scoring affair, won by a powerful England side who were followed by the unfancied Irish in second place. The tournament was played during the second half of the British domesti ...
. He had been selected in 1902 against the same opposition and scored a goal,[ but that match in Glasgow was declared unofficial after a stand collapsed, killing dozens and injuring hundreds.][
His younger brother Tommy was also a footballer and a forward,][ who also played for Glenbuck Athletic and Portsmouth, as well as ]Leicester Fosse
Leicester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English f ...
, Chesterfield and Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
.Tommy Brown
Foxes Talk
Career statistics
International
Honours
Tottenham Hotspur
* 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 ...
: 1900–01
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Sandy
1877 births
1944 deaths
Footballers from East Ayrshire
Scottish men's footballers
Scotland men's international footballers
English Football League players
Southern Football League players
Preston North End F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Luton Town F.C. players
Kettering Town F.C. players
Ayr United F.C. players
St Bernard's F.C. players
Men's association football forwards
Glenbuck Cherrypickers F.C. players
Scottish emigrants to New Zealand
Scottish Football League players
Middlesbrough F.C. players
People from Muirkirk