Eddy Brown
Encyclopedia
Edwin "Eddy" Brown is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. He played professionally for a number of clubs, but the peak of his career was spent with Birmingham City
during their most successful period in the 1950s. Over a professional career of nearly 400 appearances in the Football League
, he scored at a rate of very nearly one goal every two games. He was a pioneer of the goal celebration
.
with a view to taking Holy Orders
. He studied at the college for eight years, during which time the boys were evacuated to the mainland when the Germans invaded, a disruption which did not prevent Brown achieving four A levels (in English, French, Latin and History) and laying the foundations for his lifelong love of Shakespeare.
and said "I am a centre forward." Preston
took him at his word and he scored a hat-trick on his debut for the "A" team which secured him a professional contract.
He joined Preston at a time when Bill Shankly
was nearing the end of his Preston playing career; Brown believes his success in the game owed much to the lessons learned from Shankly in that first year:
Southampton
£10,000 plus the services of Brown to bring goalscorer Charlie Wayman
, whose family had been unable to settle in the south, back nearer home in the north of England.
When Brown joined Southampton, he found it difficult to replace Wayman who had become a cult-hero with The Dell
crowds. After his retirement, Brown admitted that "strolling around (Southampton
) soon after his transfer, he wondered what he had done as everywhere he turned there were reminders of just how popular Wayman had become."
Nonetheless, Brown was able to overcome this difficult start and, helped by his pace and deadly right foot, he came close to emulating his predecessor's scoring achievements. In the 1950–51 season he scored 20 goals in 36 league games, but Southampton's defence leaked too many goals and they finished in mid-table. The following season started in similar vein, and Brown maintained his scoring ratio with 12 goals in 21 games, until injury meant his season — and his Saints career — came to an end in January 1952.
Brown had failed to settle at Southampton, despite scoring 34 goals in 59 starts while at the club, and in March 1952 he was granted a transfer to Coventry City
of the Third Division (South)
, where he continued to score goals at an impressive rate.
of the Second Division for £9,000, a decision which provoked the resignation of Coventry's manager Jack Fairbrother
.
Brown's career at Birmingham coincided with probably the best period in the club's history. He arrived in mid-October 1954, and in that first part-season scored 14 goals in 28 League games, including a hat-trick
in a 9–1 demolition of Liverpool
which remains their record defeat. His goals helped Birmingham to the 1954–55 Second Division championship.
The following season, 1955–56, they achieved their highest ever finishing position, sixth in the First Division
; Brown, playing alongside Peter "Spud" Murphy
and Welsh
international Noel Kinsey
and with Alex Govan
and England
international Gordon Astall
on the wings, finished top scorer with 21 League goals. He scored another seven in the run which took the club to their second ever FA Cup Final, only to lose 3–1 to a Manchester City
side inspired by Don Revie
. This was the match best remembered for Manchester City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann
breaking a bone in his neck and still finishing the game.
In 1956–57 Brown scored 20 goals in all competitions and played in the semifinal of the FA Cup, losing to Manchester United
's Busby Babes
. He was also a pioneer of European competition, as part of the Birmingham side which reached the semifinal of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1955–58, where he scored two goals in the 4–3 home leg win over Barcelona before Birmingham eventually lost out in a replay. His last full season at Birmingham, 1957–58, produced another 15 League goals.
in December 1958, where despite arriving half way through the season he still finished joint leading scorer.
In 1961–62
, Brown moved to Scarborough
, then in the Northern Counties League, as player-manager; aged 36, he again was his club's top scorer. The next season he led the club to the championship of the re-formed North Eastern League, the North Eastern League Cup, and the first round proper of the FA Cup, where they only lost by the odd goal in a replay against Crewe Alexandra
. The following season, still as player-manager, he led them to runners-up spot in the Midland League.
He describes himself as "eccentric". He was noted for his goal celebration
s, many years before they became commonplace; his trademark celebration was to shake hands with the corner flag, though he was also known to cuddle a policeman behind the goal or to remove a press photographer's hat and throw it into the crowd. The Times
report of a match in which he scored a hat-trick described him thus:
He was fond of quoting Shakespeare, whether at press conferences or in the dressing-room, and while at Birmingham wrote (without a ghostwriter
) a weekly column in the local paper, the Birmingham Mail
.
After a reunion of the 1956 Cup Final squad, Brown was described as "the star of the show ... who could surely have made it as a stand-up comedian as well as a superb footballer".
and French
at a private school
in nearby Wolverhampton
. His ambition was to become a teacher once his playing days were over. He went on to teach games at Preston Catholic College; one of his pupils was Mark Lawrenson
, future Irish international
footballer and European Cup
-winner with Liverpool
. When it became obligatory for teachers to be qualified, Brown enrolled at Durham University
at the age of 54 where he acquired his teaching certificate, armed with which he taught French until his retirement.
In his spare time he became passionately involved with a local amateur
football club, Broughton
Amateurs, where he was appointed first team manager in the 1978–79 season. Two years later he managed the club to a "double" of the Lancashire Amateur League Premier Division, which they won for the first time, and the Lancashire FA Amateur Cup, the first time Broughton had even reached the final. His humour, extrovert nature and managerial ability came out in his pre-Cup Final team talk:
His influence extended throughout the club, from acting as "front man" for club functions to looking after the pitches. At the age of 70 he was running the club's third team, and, as of January 2009, was still "helping out" on the committee.
Brown is married, with four children and several grandchildren.
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
during their most successful period in the 1950s. Over a professional career of nearly 400 appearances in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
, he scored at a rate of very nearly one goal every two games. He was a pioneer of the goal celebration
Goal celebration
In football, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration may be performed by the goalscorer , his or her teammates, the manager or coaching staff and/or the supporters of the team...
.
Early life
Brown was born in Jutland Street, Preston, Lancashire and attended St Ignatius primary school in the town. He was a religious boy, and at the age of twelve began to attend the De La Salle Catholic college on GuernseyGuernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
with a view to taking Holy Orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
. He studied at the college for eight years, during which time the boys were evacuated to the mainland when the Germans invaded, a disruption which did not prevent Brown achieving four A levels (in English, French, Latin and History) and laying the foundations for his lifelong love of Shakespeare.
Preston North End
However, after the war he returned to Preston and in August 1948 was persuaded to defer his calling in order to make use of his gift for football instead. He presented himself at DeepdaleDeepdale
Deepdale is a stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F.C. and, up to 2010, England's National Football Museum. Preston North End are one of the founder members of the Football League.- History :...
and said "I am a centre forward." Preston
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
took him at his word and he scored a hat-trick on his debut for the "A" team which secured him a professional contract.
He joined Preston at a time when Bill Shankly
Bill Shankly
William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...
was nearing the end of his Preston playing career; Brown believes his success in the game owed much to the lessons learned from Shankly in that first year:
Southampton
In 1950 Preston paid Second DivisionFootball League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
£10,000 plus the services of Brown to bring goalscorer Charlie Wayman
Charlie Wayman
Charles Wayman was an English footballer.Wayman, who was born in Chilton, Bishop Auckland, was a prolific centre-forward in the first decade after the Second World War. Newcastle United signed him from Spennymoor United in September 1941, while he was working as a miner at Chilton Colliery...
, whose family had been unable to settle in the south, back nearer home in the north of England.
When Brown joined Southampton, he found it difficult to replace Wayman who had become a cult-hero with The Dell
The Dell (Southampton F.C.)
The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, England was the home ground of Southampton Football Club, between 1898 and 2001.-New stadium:Since 1896, Southampton had been tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club at the County Ground, having vacated the Antelope Ground in the summer of 1896...
crowds. After his retirement, Brown admitted that "strolling around (Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
) soon after his transfer, he wondered what he had done as everywhere he turned there were reminders of just how popular Wayman had become."
Nonetheless, Brown was able to overcome this difficult start and, helped by his pace and deadly right foot, he came close to emulating his predecessor's scoring achievements. In the 1950–51 season he scored 20 goals in 36 league games, but Southampton's defence leaked too many goals and they finished in mid-table. The following season started in similar vein, and Brown maintained his scoring ratio with 12 goals in 21 games, until injury meant his season — and his Saints career — came to an end in January 1952.
Brown had failed to settle at Southampton, despite scoring 34 goals in 59 starts while at the club, and in March 1952 he was granted a transfer to Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
of the Third Division (South)
Football League Third Division South
The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958....
, where he continued to score goals at an impressive rate.
Birmingham City
In October 1954, following a run of five games without a win, Coventry sold him to Birmingham CityBirmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
of the Second Division for £9,000, a decision which provoked the resignation of Coventry's manager Jack Fairbrother
Jack Fairbrother
John 'Jack' Fairbrother was an English professional football goalkeeper, best known for his time at Newcastle United shortly after the Second World War. His uncle George Harrison played for Everton and England.-Footballer:...
.
Brown's career at Birmingham coincided with probably the best period in the club's history. He arrived in mid-October 1954, and in that first part-season scored 14 goals in 28 League games, including a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
in a 9–1 demolition of Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
which remains their record defeat. His goals helped Birmingham to the 1954–55 Second Division championship.
The following season, 1955–56, they achieved their highest ever finishing position, sixth in the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
; Brown, playing alongside Peter "Spud" Murphy
Peter Murphy (footballer born 1922)
Peter Murphy , often referred to as "Spud" Murphy, was an English footballer who played as an inside left. He played professionally for three clubs, Coventry City, Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City...
and Welsh
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
international Noel Kinsey
Noel Kinsey
Noel Kinsey is a Welsh former international footballer, who played as an inside right for Norwich City, Birmingham City and Port Vale.-Club career:...
and with Alex Govan
Alex Govan
Alexander "Alex" Govan is a Scottish former professional footballer who played at outside left. Most of his career was spent with Plymouth Argyle and with Birmingham City during their most successful period in the 1950s...
and England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
international Gordon Astall
Gordon Astall
Gordon Astall is a former English professional footballer. He played as an outside right and represented the Football League, the England B team and played twice for the full England side. At club level he made over 450 appearances in the Football League.Astall was born in Horwich, near Bolton,...
on the wings, finished top scorer with 21 League goals. He scored another seven in the run which took the club to their second ever FA Cup Final, only to lose 3–1 to a Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
side inspired by Don Revie
Don Revie
Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...
. This was the match best remembered for Manchester City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann
Bert Trautmann
Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE is a German former professional footballer who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper...
breaking a bone in his neck and still finishing the game.
In 1956–57 Brown scored 20 goals in all competitions and played in the semifinal of the FA Cup, losing to Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
's Busby Babes
Busby Babes
The Busby Babes were a group of Manchester United players, recruited and trained by the club's chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth team into the first team under the management of the eponymous Matt Busby.The Busby Babes were notable...
. He was also a pioneer of European competition, as part of the Birmingham side which reached the semifinal of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1955–58, where he scored two goals in the 4–3 home leg win over Barcelona before Birmingham eventually lost out in a replay. His last full season at Birmingham, 1957–58, produced another 15 League goals.
Later career
He moved on to Second Division Leyton OrientLeyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
in December 1958, where despite arriving half way through the season he still finished joint leading scorer.
In 1961–62
1961-62 in English football
The 1961–62 season was the 82nd season of competitive Football in England.-Overview:The season was notable for the remarkable achievement of Ipswich Town winning the League Championship. Under the managership of Alf Ramsey, the club progressed from the old Third Division South to the First Division...
, Brown moved to Scarborough
Scarborough F.C.
Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...
, then in the Northern Counties League, as player-manager; aged 36, he again was his club's top scorer. The next season he led the club to the championship of the re-formed North Eastern League, the North Eastern League Cup, and the first round proper of the FA Cup, where they only lost by the odd goal in a replay against Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...
. The following season, still as player-manager, he led them to runners-up spot in the Midland League.
Style and personality
The strengths of Brown's game were his pace and movement and a good right-foot finish, in his own words:He describes himself as "eccentric". He was noted for his goal celebration
Goal celebration
In football, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration may be performed by the goalscorer , his or her teammates, the manager or coaching staff and/or the supporters of the team...
s, many years before they became commonplace; his trademark celebration was to shake hands with the corner flag, though he was also known to cuddle a policeman behind the goal or to remove a press photographer's hat and throw it into the crowd. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
report of a match in which he scored a hat-trick described him thus:
He was fond of quoting Shakespeare, whether at press conferences or in the dressing-room, and while at Birmingham wrote (without a ghostwriter
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
) a weekly column in the local paper, the Birmingham Mail
Birmingham Mail
The Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The newspaper, which was re-branded from the Birmingham Evening Mail in October 2005, is one of the biggest...
.
After a reunion of the 1956 Cup Final squad, Brown was described as "the star of the show ... who could surely have made it as a stand-up comedian as well as a superb footballer".
Later life
After leaving professional football, Brown returned home to Preston and worked in the family carpet firm as a sales representative. While a Birmingham player, he had worked as a part-time teacher of gamesPhysical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
at a private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
in nearby Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
. His ambition was to become a teacher once his playing days were over. He went on to teach games at Preston Catholic College; one of his pupils was Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...
, future Irish international
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
footballer and European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
-winner with Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. When it became obligatory for teachers to be qualified, Brown enrolled at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
at the age of 54 where he acquired his teaching certificate, armed with which he taught French until his retirement.
In his spare time he became passionately involved with a local amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
football club, Broughton
Broughton, Lancashire
Broughton is a village and civil parish in the City of Preston, Lancashire, England, about north of Preston city centre. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,735...
Amateurs, where he was appointed first team manager in the 1978–79 season. Two years later he managed the club to a "double" of the Lancashire Amateur League Premier Division, which they won for the first time, and the Lancashire FA Amateur Cup, the first time Broughton had even reached the final. His humour, extrovert nature and managerial ability came out in his pre-Cup Final team talk:
His influence extended throughout the club, from acting as "front man" for club functions to looking after the pitches. At the age of 70 he was running the club's third team, and, as of January 2009, was still "helping out" on the committee.
Brown is married, with four children and several grandchildren.
Honours
- As player with Birmingham City
- Football League Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
champions 1955. - FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
finalist 1956.
- Football League Second Division
- As player-manager with Scarborough
- North Eastern League champions 1963.
- North Eastern League Cup winners 1963.
- Midland League runners-up 1964.
- As manager with Broughton Amateurs
- Lancashire Amateur LeagueLancashire Amateur LeagueThe Lancashire Amateur Football League is an English association football league founded in 1899. Currently the league consists of eight divisions - Premier, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven...
Premier Division champions 1981, 1983. - Lancashire Football Association Cup winners 1981.
- Lancashire Amateur League Cup winners 1985.
- Lancashire Amateur League