Thomas Brown (26 October 1919 – May 2000)England & Wales, Death Index: 1916–2006 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 ...

who played as a

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 ...

and spent most of his career with

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 ...

. He was also a

Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

during

World War II 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 opposing ...

Youth

Born in

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O ope ...

, Brown was born the youngest of four brothers, three of whom played professionally. His oldest brother

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

began his career in the United States and was a member of the U.S. national team at the 1930 FIFA World Cup before retiring from

Clyde F.C. Clyde Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club who play in Scottish League One. Formed in 1877 at the River Clyde in Glasgow, the club host their home matches at New Douglas Park, having played at Broadwood Stadium from 1994 ...

in 1941. His brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

was a Scottish international goalkeeper who played for Hibs and

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, and won the 1939 Scottish FA Cup with Clyde. Each of the brothers apparently left school at a young age to become apprentice riveters at Troon Shipyard.James Brown biography
While working as a riveter, Brown also began his football career with Cumnock Juniors before moving to Glenafton Athletic at nearby

New Cumnock New Cumnock is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It expanded during the coal-mining era from the late 18th century, and mining remained its key industry until its pits were shut in the 1960s. The town is southeast of Cumnock, and east of Ayr. ...

in June 1938.

Professional

In October 1938, Glenafton Athletic transferred Brown to

. Despite Brown being am amateur Ipswich sent Glenafton a 'handsome cheque'. However,

soon intervened and Brown went to work as a riveter in the Troon Shipyard, along with his three brothers. At the time, Brown's oldest brother Jim, who had recently retired from Clyde F.C., was an outspoken union activist. The four brothers were exempt from the draft as members of an essential war time industry. However, Jim's union activities led to the Troon Shipyard management removing the brothers' draft exemptions. To avoid the draft, John joined the Navy and Tom became a Commando. Their brother Jim was found to be physically exempt from military service due to punctured eardrums. In 1946, Tom returned to Ipswich Town, seeing time in only one first team game. However, he gained the starting position during the 1947–1948 season and held that until 1950. During the 1950–1951 season, he played only three first team games and in August 1951, Brown left Ipswich and moved to Bury Town where he finished his career.

References

External links

*
Tom Brown at Pride of Anglia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tom 1919 births 2000 deaths Scottish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Cumnock Juniors F.C. players Footballers from Troon Glenafton Athletic F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Bury Town F.C. players British Army personnel of World War II British Army Commandos soldiers English Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Military personnel from South Ayrshire