Ken Brown (footballer)
Brown at Upton Park, 2010 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 16 February 1934 | ||
Place of birth | Forest Gate, London, England | ||
Position(s) | Centre-half | ||
Youth career | |||
Neville United | |||
1951–1953 | West Ham United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1953–1967 | West Ham United | 386 | (4) |
1967–1969 | Torquay United | 42 | (1) |
1969–1970 | Hereford United | ||
Total | 428 | (5) | |
International career | |||
1959 | England | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1980–1987 | Norwich City | ||
1987 | Shrewsbury Town | ||
1988–1990 | Plymouth Argyle | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Kenneth Brown (born 16 February 1934)
Playing career
Brown was playing for local Dagenham side Neville United when he signed professional for West Ham United on 16 October 1951. He quickly made his way into the reserve side, but first team football was much harder to come by, his debut eventually coming in February 1953 against Rotherham United as a replacement for Malcolm Allison. His first five years as a professional saw him only make occasional appearances for the Hammers, although national service between 1952 and 1954 did not help.
Brown started the 1957–58 season as first-choice in the centre of the West Ham defence, and remained there, missing only one game as West Ham won the
In May 1967, after receiving a testimonial from West Ham, he followed his friend John Bond to Torquay United for a fee of £4000. He had played 386 league games and scored 4 goals. He played 42 league games for Torquay, scoring once, before moving to Southern League Hereford United, then managed by Welsh legend John Charles, in May 1969 for one final season as a player.
Coaching and managerial career
When John Bond was appointed manager of
Their next season back in the top flight saw Brown lead his side to fifth place, then Norwich's highest ever final position. They even topped the league during the first half of the season, and proved to be the hardest side to beat in the First Division alongside champions Everton.
The following season, Norwich started badly and by Christmas, Brown had been sacked. In addition to his success on the pitch at Norwich, he had displayed a great ability for spotting talent at lower league clubs and in the reserve sides of other top flight clubs. The likes of Dave Watson, Steve Bruce, Ian Crook, Mike Phelan and Bryan Gunn were all brought to the club by Brown in this fashion. Watson went on to enjoy league title and FA Cup glory at being sold to Everton in 1986. Bruce was sold to Manchester United immediately after Brown's sacking, and went on to lift a succession of trophies at Old Trafford. Phelan followed Bruce to Old Trafford and collected winner's medals in the league and cup competitions during the first four of his five seasons there. Crook spent a total of 11 seasons at Carrow Road and played a part in some of Norwich's great successes, while also enduring a relegation in 1995. Gunn, who was signed from Aberdeen a year before Brown's sacking, remained at Carrow Road until the end of his playing career in 1999, and would spend a total of 23 years at the club as a player, member of the coaching staff and finally serving a brief spell as manager.
In December 1987, Brown took charge of Shrewsbury Town for one match in the Second Division, but decided against taking the job permanently and took time out of football instead. In July 1988 he was appointed manager of Plymouth Argyle, where one of his signings was his son Kenny Junior from Norwich City, who would later be sold to West Ham United for £170,000. Brown was controversially sacked as Plymouth manager in February 1990, and decided to once more take time away from football. His spell in charge of Plymouth would prove to be his last managerial appointment.
In 1994, he was approached by England manager Terry Venables to work part-time as a scout, a duty he has since also performed for Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan, whilst maintaining his business interest in the Lakenham Leisure Centre in Norwich.
In February 2004 he was guest of honour at Carrow Road for the home game against West Ham to celebrate the opening of a new stand, when a special presentation was made to Brown to commemorate his 70th birthday.
Personal life
Ken is the father of
Honours
West Ham United
References
- ^ a b "Ken Brown". Englandstats.com. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ a b c "Ken Brown". Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ "Ken Brown". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ "Ken Brown's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19830703&id=eNseAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dGgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6788,1722757Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 3 July 1983
- ^ Ken Brown's West Ham and Norwich medals stolen in burglary – BBC News. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
- ^ "Medals stolen from legend Brown". whufc.com. 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Hammers offer 5k to help find Ken Brown's medals". whufc.com. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "Knees up Mother Brown – West Ham United FC Online: News". kumb.com.
- ^ "West Ham United 3 Preston North End 2". WHUFC. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ "Liverpool 2-2 West Ham United". LFC History. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ "TSV Munchen 0-2 West Ham, European Cup Winners Cup final 1964-65". West Ham Stats. Retrieved 26 June 2021.