Geoffrey Stewart Brown

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born c. 1943) is a Scottish businessman. He was chairman of

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

from 1986 until November 2011. In 1970, Brown founded G. S. Brown Construction, which specialises in homebuilding. Brown is still chairman of the company, which is a family business, with two of his sons also on the board of directors. In June 2011, it was revealed that the company was set to become the shirt sponsors of the club, to mark Brown's quarter-century as chairman. Brown took control of St Johnstone in 1986, when they were in deep financial trouble and near the bottom of the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

. A

rights issue A rights issue or rights offer is a dividend of subscription rights to buy additional securities in a company made to the company's existing security holders. When the rights are for equity securities, such as shares, in a public company, it can ...

raised £150,000, which solved the club's short-term financial problems.

Alex Totten Alexander Totten (born 12 February 1946) is a Scottish former football player and manager. Playing career Growing up in Dennyloanhead, Stirlingshire, he signed for Liverpool straight from school in 1960 before signing for top division Dundee ...

was soon appointed as manager. Under his guidance, the club made a rise from second-bottom in the

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SF ...

in 1986 to mid-table in the

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

in late 1990. During this period, Brown oversaw the sale of

Muirton Park Muirton Park was the second of three football stadiums the football club St Johnstone from Perth, Scotland, have occupied in their history. It was preceded by the Recreation Grounds (1885–1924) and succeeded by McDiarmid Park (1989&ndas ...

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

and the club's move to a newly built

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an All-seat ...

stadium in the

Tulloch Tulloch may refer to: People with the surname * Alexander Bruce Tulloch (1838–1920), Major-general in the British Army, author * Bert Tulloch, English footballer *Bitsie Tulloch, American actress * Francis Tulloch (born 1940), Jamaican politici ...

area of the city, which was opened in 1989. In August 2006, to mark Brown's twentieth anniversary as chairman of St Johnstone, the ''

Perthshire Advertiser The ''Perthshire Advertiser'' (originally the ''Perthshire Advertiser and Strathmore Journal'') is a tabloid newspaper, published by Reach plc, in Perth, Scotland Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on th ...

'' published his best-of-Saints XI from the past two decades: # Alan Main #

Mark Treanor Mark Treanor (born 1 April 1963) is a Scottish former professional footballer. A right-back, Glasgow-born Treanor began his career with Clydebank in 1979. In nine years with ''the Bankies'', he made 275 league appearances and scored 13 goals. ...

Callum Davidson Callum Iain Davidson (born 25 June 1976) is a Scottish professional football player and coach who recently managed Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. Davidson played as a left-back for St Johnstone, Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City and P ...

# Tommy Turner # Sergei Baltacha #

Alan Kernaghan Alan Nigel Kernaghan (born 25 April 1967) is a football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a defender from 1985 to 2006, notably in the Premier League for Manchester City and in the Football League for Middlesbrough, ...

Allan Moore Allan Moore (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish football player and manager and is currently the manager of Camelon Juniors. Playing career During his playing career he turned out for several Scottish clubs including Dumbarton, Heart of Mid ...

# John O'Neil # Roddy Grant # Paul Wright # Harry Curran As

Steve Lomas Stephen Martin Lomas (born 18 January 1974) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, Lomas was a midfielder from 1991 to 2010. He had spells in the Premier League for both Manchester City and West Ham ...

was presented to the media as the new St Johnstone manager in November 2011, Brown announced that he was going to pass control of the club to his son Steven.

Personal life

Brown married his wife, Joyce, in 1962 and they have three sons (Stuart, Steve and Scott) and a daughter, Susan. His son, Steve, succeeded him as chairman of St Johnstone. Brown is also a racehorse owner and breeder. Brown underwent a successful operation for

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

in July 2001. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to Scottish football and the community in Perth.

References

External links

Article from ''The Herald'' – includes a snippet about BrownHail the new manager
Brown (right) with Saints manager

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one appearanc ...

(centre) and his assistant

Jim Weir James McIntosh Weir (born 15 June 1969) is a Scottish professional football player and coach who manages Scottish League Two club Forfar Athletic. Weir played in the senior Scottish leagues for Hamilton Academical, Hearts and St. Johnstone. ...

(left) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Geoff Living people St Johnstone F.C. non-playing staff Chairmen and investors of football clubs in Scotland British racehorse owners and breeders 1943 births 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople People from Perth, Scotland Officers of the Order of the British Empire