Tony Brown (English footballer)
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| Tony Brown | ||
 |
||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony John Brown | |
| Date of birth | October 3, 1945 | |
| Place of birth | Oldham, England | |
| Playing position | Wing half, Inside forward | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1961–1963 | West Bromwich Albion | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1963–1980 1980 1981 1981 1981–1983 |
West Bromwich Albion New England Tea Men Jacksonville Tea Men West Bromwich Albion Torquay United Stafford Rangers |
574 (218) 31 (8) 32 (9) 45 (11) |
| National team | ||
| 1971 | England | 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
- For other people with the same name, see Tony Brown
Anthony John Brown (born October 3, 1945 in Oldham) is an English former footballer, primarily with West Bromwich Albion. He holds the club record for both appearances and goals. He is often referred to by his nickname 'Bomber'.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
One of three children, Brown moved at an early age from his birthplace Oldham to Wythenshawe, Manchester.[1] He was a keen Manchester United supporter as a boy, but his football idol was Manchester City's Denis Law.[2] Brown played for South Manchester Boys, progressing on to 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] West Bromwich Albion's Manchester-based scout John Shaw persuaded Brown to take a trial at the club, and he responded by scoring a hat-trick in a practice match.[4] Brown joined Albion as an apprentice professional on 13 April 1961, on a wage of £6 a week.[5]
He turned professional on September 26, 1963, and scored on his league debut in a 2-1 win away to Ipswich Town two days later. After a spell of prolific scoring in the reserves he gradually established himself as a first team regular, scoring in every round of the Football League Cup in the 1965-66 season as Albion won the trophy and winning a runners-up medal in the same competition the following year. In May 1968 he won an FA Cup winners medal as Albion beat Everton 1-0 after extra time. He played for the young England side in April 1969 against the full England side and a year later won his second League Cup runners up medal as Albion lost 2-1 to Manchester City.
In 1970–1971 he was the leading scorer in Division One with 28 goals,[6] and was rewarded with his only full England cap on May 19, 1971, playing in a goalless draw against Wales at Wembley. 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. Brown remained at the Hawthorns until the summer of 1980 when he moved to the United States to join the New England Tea Men. In a seventeen year career at the Hawthorns, Brown had broken both the appearance and goalscoring records for the Baggies, scoring 218 goals in 574 league games.
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 October 8, 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 December 7, 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. 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 commentator for BRMB and Capital Gold Birmingham, mainly commentating from The Hawthorns when West Bromwich Albion play at home. 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.[7] In July 2007 he was voted into the PFA Centenary Hall of Fame.[8]
[edit] References
- Brown, Tony; John Homer, Glenn Willmore (1998). Bomber Brown: The Tony Brown Story. Perspective Publishing. ISBN 0-9534626-0-9.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p7
- ^ a b Brown, Homer & Willmore p8
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p9
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore pp9–10
- ^ Brown, Homer & Willmore p10
- ^ English League Leading Goalscorers 1889-2007. RSSSF (2007-06-14). Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ "The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural", West Bromwich Albion F.C., 2004-11-17. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- ^ "'Bomber' enters Centenary Hall of Fame", West Bromwich Albion F.C., 2007-07-09. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
[edit] External links
- Tony Brown profile on football-England.com
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jeff Astle |
First Division top scorer 1970–71 |
Succeeded by Francis Lee |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Brown, Tony |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Brown, Anthony John |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Footballer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 3, 1945 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oldham, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
