Tony Brown (footballer, born 1945)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Anthony Brown | ||
Date of birth | 3 October 1945 | ||
Place of birth | Oldham, Lancashire, England | ||
Position(s) |
Inside forward | ||
Youth career | |||
1961–1963 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1963–1980 | West Bromwich Albion | 574 | (218) |
1980 | New England Tea Men | 31 | (8) |
1981 | Jacksonville Tea Men | 32 | (9) |
1981 |
West Bromwich Albion | 0 | (0) |
1981–1983 | Torquay United | 45 | (11) |
1983 | Stafford Rangers | 10 | (3) |
Total | 692 | (249) | |
International career | |||
1971 | England | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Anthony Brown (born 3 October 1945) is an English former
at the end of that season.After relegation in 1973, he helped Albion to win promotion back to Division One in 1976. He scored 279 goals in 720 competitive games for Albion, both club records. Brown finished his playing career playing for the New England Tea Men, Torquay United and non-league Stafford Rangers. Since retiring from playing he has worked as a coach and a commentator.
Early life
One of three siblings, Brown moved at an early age from his birthplace Oldham, Lancashire to Wythenshawe, Manchester.[1] He was a keen Manchester United supporter as a boy, but his football idol was the then Manchester City striker Denis Law, who later signed for United just as Brown was beginning his own career as a footballer.[2] Brown represented the South Manchester Boys team, before progressing to play for Manchester Boys and then the Lancashire County team.[2] He suffered from asthma from three months old until the age of fourteen, but nonetheless had ambitions to play football. As he later said, "I'd always wanted to be a professional footballer; that's all I'd ever dreamed of doing."[3] As a 15-year-old, he had agreed to sign for Manchester City when West Bromwich Albion's Manchester-based scout John Shaw persuaded Brown to take a trial at Albion.[4] Brown responded by scoring a hat-trick in a practice match and some years later reflected:[5]
The very first time I stepped foot inside the Hawthorns as a 15-year-old schoolboy, I knew this was the club for me. At the time I was on the verge of signing for Manchester City, who were my local club, but I felt so instantly at home with Albion that I decided to sign for them instead. It was the best decision I've ever made in my life.
West Bromwich Albion
First team breakthrough
Brown joined West Bromwich Albion as an apprentice professional on 13 April 1961, earning a wage of £6 a week.
Cup successes and England call-up
At the start of the
I've always said that the second leg of the League Cup Final against West Ham was the best performance I've seen from an Albion side. That was the best team performance that I ever played in as well ... We went out and from the first second we absolutely destroyed them.
Brown missed two months of the following season due to a back injury.
Relegation and promotion
He remained at Albion after their relegation to Division Two at the end of 1972–73. A testimonial match was staged for Brown at the Hawthorns on 6 May 1974, an Albion / Aston Villa side taking on a Wolves / Birmingham side. He played a major role in Albion's return to the top flight in 1976, scoring the goal that clinched promotion in a 1–0 win away at his home town club Oldham Athletic. In 1977–78, he played in the FA Cup semi-final against Ipswich at Highbury. He scored a penalty but Albion lost the match 3–1 and Brown called it "the worst day of my life".[25]
Later career and retirement
Brown remained at the Hawthorns until the summer of 1980 when he moved to the United States to join the
In 17 years at the Hawthorns, Brown had broken both the appearance and goalscoring records for the Baggies, scoring 218 goals in 574 league games. Both of these records remain intact nearly 40 years later.
He returned to the UK after the 1981 NASL season, playing once for the West Bromwich Albion reserve side in September 1981. The following month, on 8 October 1981, the Torquay United managerial team of Frank O'Farrell and Bruce Rioch persuaded Brown to join Torquay, with a second testimonial staged in his honour on 7 December 1981 when Torquay faced Manchester United at Plainmoor. Brown lived up to his reputation with 11 goals in 45 league appearances for Torquay before moving to non-league Stafford Rangers in 1983. He later coached at Birmingham City (in the 1987–88 season he was assistant to Garry Pendrey) and West Bromwich Albion. Brown is currently a football expert summariser for BBC Radio WM on West Bromwich Albion matches.
Brown was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations in 2004.
Honours
West Bromwich Albion
- 1967–68
- 1965–66
Individual
- Football League First Division top scorer: 1970–71
- Midlands Footballer of the Year: 1969, 1971, 1979
Footnotes
- A. ^ This does not include the first round of the competition: Albion, as a First Division team, entered at the second round stage.
References
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p7
- ^ a b Brown, Homer & Willmore p8
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p9
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore pp9–10
- ^ McOwan p5.
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p10
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p15.
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore pp16–17.
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p18.
- ^ Matthews (2007) pp304–305.
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p19.
- ^ Matthews (2007) pp306–307.
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p21.
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore pp21–22.
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p26
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore pp26–27
- ^ McOwan p257
- ^ McOwan p86
- ^ a b Brown, Homer & Willmore p28
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p30
- ^ a b Brown, Homer & Willmore p31
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p156
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p45
- Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p106 & p151
- ^ "The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 17 November 2004. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
- ^ "'Bomber' enters Centenary Hall of Fame". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 9 July 2007. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
- ^ "West Brom legend Tony Brown voted on to Broad Street's Walk of Stars". Birmingham Mail. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "Tony Brown tribute". West Bromwich Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ "West Brom to unveil statue of Tony Brown". Express and Star. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
Bibliography
- Brown, Tony; Homer, John; Willmore, Glenn (1998). Bomber Brown: The Tony Brown Story. Perspective Publishing. ISBN 0-9534626-0-9.
- McOwan, Gavin (2002). The Essential History of West Bromwich Albion. Headline. ISBN 0-7553-1146-9.
- Matthews, Tony (2007). West Bromwich Albion: The Complete Record. Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-565-4.
- Wright, Simon (2006). West Brom's Cult Heroes. Know the Score. ISBN 1-905449-02-X.
External links
- Tony Brown at Englandstats.com
- Tony Brown at England Football Online