William Brown (27 June 1874 – 6 January 1940) was an English amateur

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 ...

and minor counties

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. Brown was born at

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

in June 1874 to William Brown and his wife, Martha. By profession a hat manufacturer, he played for

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 three spells between 1892 and 1904, making 59 appearances and scoring ten goals during his second-spell. In between his three spells, he played for St Albans City from 1895 to 1899 and

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

from 1901 to 1904. Brown also played

at minor counties level for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, albeit intermittently, from 1904 to 1914, making sixteen appearances in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was employed as a special constable in Luton. He fell ill on 4 January 1940, subsequently dying two days later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William 1874 births 1940 deaths Footballers from Luton British milliners English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Luton Town F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Watford F.C. players English cricketers Bedfordshire cricketers British special constables