Bob Brown (footballer, born 1870)

Robert Neilson Brown (19 August 1870 – 17 August 1943), sometimes misidentified as J. Brown, was a Scottish footballer whose career included periods at Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers.[2]

Bob Brown
Personal information
Full name Robert Neilson Brown
Date of birth 19 August 1870
Place of birth Port Eglinton, Scotland
Date of death 17 August 1943(1943-08-17) (aged 72)[1]
Place of death Farnworth, England
Position(s)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Blantyre Thistle
1888–1891 Cambuslang 27 (12)
1891–1894 The Wednesday 45 (8)
1894–1895 Third Lanark 10 (2)
1895–1902 Bolton Wanderers 125 (14)
1897Burnley (loan) 4 (1)
Total 211 (37)
International career
1890 Scotland 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Brown was born in Port Eglinton in the south of Glasgow, but moved with his family to Halfway, a district of Cambuslang, during his childhood.[1] He began his senior career as an at local club Cambuslang F.C. who were founder members of the Scottish Football League in 1890. He signed for The Wednesday before the club gained admission to the English Football League in 1892, making a name for himself when scoring in a 4–1 defeat of League side Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup shortly after arriving in January of that year.[3] He went on to make 45 appearances in Wednesday's first two League seasons[4] and, after a brief spell back in his native Scotland with Third Lanark, he then joined Bolton Wanderers in 1895, moving to a more defensive role and latterly operating as a capable reserve in almost any outfield position as needed; he made 149 appearances at Burnden Park, 94 of them in the top flight.[5] Brown also briefly had a loan spell at Burnley in 1897, making four appearances but was unable to save them from relegation. He retired in 1902 and settled in Lancashire.[1]

International career

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While a teenager at Cambuslang, Brown was selected once for the Scotland national team against Wales in 1890.[6][7] The following year he played for the Glasgow FA in their annual challenge match against Sheffield,[8] and after moving to that city he featured in a 'Midlands v North' representative fixture.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Mitchell, Andy (2021). The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939. Amazon. ISBN 9798513846642.
  2. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine.
  3. ^ 1892 | The Wednesday 4-1 Bolton Wanderers, The Giant Killers
  4. ^ R N Brown, Sheffield Wednesday Archive
  5. ^ "Bob Brown". theFootballNetwork.net; Walking Down the Manny Road. 5 May 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
  6. ^ (Smith 2013, p. 38)
  7. ^ (Scotland player) J. Brown, London Hearts Supporters Club
  8. ^ Sheffield V. Glasgow Archived 14 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Glasgow Herald, 12 January 1891 (via Partick Thistle History Archive)
Sources