James Brain (11 September 1900 – 1971) was an English professional football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who played as a centre forward.

Career

Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Brain started his career playing in Wales, having an unsuccessful trial at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, before gaining a regular place at

Ton Pentre Ton Pentre () is a village in the Rhondda, Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Glamorgan, Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the comm ...

. In 1923, he moved to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, and in his eight years with Arsenal became one of the club's most successful goalscorers. After a year in the reserve side, Brain started his Arsenal first-team career with a goal on his debut, a 1–0 win against local rivals

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

on 25 October 1924. Brain was a prolific striker throughout his career, and was the club's top scorer for four seasons in a row, from 1924–25 to 1928–29; this included 39 goals in the 1925–26 season (second only to

Ted Drake Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as well ...

's haul of 45 in 1934–35), which included four

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

s. The next season, 1926–27, Brain scored 34 goals, this haul including two four-goal tallies against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. Brain's goalscoring feats helped Arsenal reach their first

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

final, in 1926–27, though a mistake by

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Dan Lewis meant Arsenal lost 1–0 to Cardiff City. However Brain's form dropped and in 1929–30 he lost out in competing for the front spot with Jack Lambert, David Jack and

Dave Halliday David Halliday (11 December 1901 – 5 January 1970) was a Scottish football player and manager. He achieved numerous distinctions and high rankings as a prolific goal-scoring forward with six senior clubs; St Mirren, Dundee, Sunderland, Arsen ...

all getting the nod ahead of him, meaning Brain only played six league matches this season. Brain therefore missed Arsenal' 1930 Cup final win over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

; Jack and Lambert led the line that day. He played in Arsenal's 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Charity Shield at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

in October 1930. The following season, 1930–31, Brain finally won a medal after playing sixteen matches (scoring four goals) in Arsenal's very first

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

title-winning season. Brain's final appearance in an Arsenal shirt was a 2–0 win over

on 21 March 1931. By now, Brain's age was catching up with him, and he had been overtaken in the goalscoring stakes by both Lambert and Jack. He left Arsenal for Tottenham for £2,500 in September 1931, becoming one of the few players to have moved directly between the two rival clubs. In total, he scored 139 goals in 232 appearances for Arsenal, making him Arsenal' joint-fifth top scorer of all time, and he was the first player ever to score 100 goals for the club, a feat he achieved in a 6–3 win over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 7 March 1928. However, he never played for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

; he managed to secure a trial for the national team but was never actually selected. By the time Brain had joined Spurs he was in his thirties, and only played 47 times for them, scoring 10 goals, before leaving in 1934. He played his final years out at Swansea Town and

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. After retiring as a player, Brain managed first

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

and then

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

from 1937 until 1948. During the war Brain briefly turned out for

. He returned to his role as

manager until 1948, after which he retired completely from football. He died in 1971, at the age of 71.

Honours

Player

Arsenal *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

: 1930–31 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

runner-up: 1926–27

Manager

Cheltenham Town * Gloucestershire Northern Senior Professional Cup: 1939–40

References

CitationsBibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brain, Jimmy English men's footballers English football managers Arsenal F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players King's Lynn F.C. managers Cheltenham Town F.C. managers 1900 births 1971 deaths English Football League players Footballers from Bristol Men's association football forwards Ton Pentre F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen