William John Brown (25 December 1896 – 23 August 1977) was a Scottish professional footballer. He was born in Larne, although of Scottish descent, returning to Dundee in 1901.
Brown, a full-back, played for a local junior side Dundee North End F.C before joining Welsh side
Llanelli for the 1922–23 season. He moved to
Rochdale in 1923, making his debut in the opening game of 1923–24, a 2–0 home win against Durham. Bill played 178 league games for Rochdale without finding the net and completed a run of 85 successive games toward the end of the 26/27 season. He was part of the Rochdale side which defeated Chesterfield 8-1 during the same campaign, a club record which stands today. Originally a left back he was switched to the right back position during this period. However, after a loss to New Brighton the following season he was dropped and subsequently released after 5 years with the club. His last match was a 1–0 home win against Doncaster on 5 May 1928.
Brown joined
Torquay United in 1928. He started the first game of the 1928–29 season, a 4–3 defeat at home to
Queens Park Rangers. He did however struggle to establish himself and left
Plainmoor, after playing 16 times, to join
Dundalk after losing his place in defence to
Sid Cann
Sydney Thomas Cann (30 October 1911 – 1 November 1996) was an English professional football defender and football manager. He was capped twice by England at Schools level.
Playing career
Born in Babbacombe, Torquay, Sid Cann joined Torquay U ...
. Following his career Bill returned to Dundee.
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References
19th-century births
Footballers from Dundee
Scottish men's footballers
Dundee North End F.C. players
Rochdale A.F.C. players
Torquay United F.C. players
League of Ireland players
1977 deaths
Dundalk F.C. players
English Football League players
Llanelli Town A.F.C. players
Men's association football fullbacks
Dundee F.C. players
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