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 at right half-back. Born in
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, he spent most of his football career playing in England, for
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 ...
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
, Brown was orphaned at the age of 7, along with his five brothers.Dykes (1994), p. 53. He entered the coal-mining industry while still at school, but after becoming a Scottish schoolboy international, he decided to pursue a career in football. After playing for Belhavenock,
Maryhill
Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road.
The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station.
History
Hew Hill, ...
Scottish Junior League
The Scottish Junior Football League (SJL) was a Scottish football competition that, through various incarnations, existed from 1892 to 1947.
It was based in the west of Scotland and largely consisted of Junior clubs that were not considered goo ...
, he joined
Scottish Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...
club East Fife for the 1926–27 season. After a successful season in which his team reached the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
of the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,First Division side
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 ...
.
Burnley narrowly avoided relegation to the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
in Brown's first two seasons with the club, but they were unable to do so again in 1929–30. Two years later, Brown was named as the club's captain. However, in June 1935, he was signed by Manchester United for a fee of £1,000.Dykes (1994), p. 54. In his eight years with Burnley, Brown scored five goals in 228 league appearances. He made his debut for Manchester United in a 3–1 defeat away to Plymouth Argyle on 31 August 1935. He was the club's starting right-half and captain for most of the season, missing just two matches as Manchester United finished top of the Second Division to earn promotion to the top flight.
He continued as the club's first-choice right-half for the next two seasons as they were relegated back to the Second Division and immediately promoted again. Having already lost the captaincy to George Roughton in 1937, Brown lost his place in the team to George Gladwin at the start of the 1938–39 season, before Jack Warner took over in November 1938, having been signed the previous summer. This meant that Brown made just three appearances for Manchester United in 1938–39 and he was allowed to leave for Bradford Park Avenue in February 1939. He made 13 appearances for Bradford Park Avenue before the end of the season and another in 1939–40 before league football was suspended due to the
Second World War
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 opposi ...