Thomas Brown (26 October 1919 – May 2000)England & Wales, Death Index: 1916–2006 was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

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 ...

and spent most of his career with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

. He was also a

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Youth

Born in

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

, Brown was born the youngest of four brothers, three of whom played professionally. His oldest brother Jim began his career in the United States and was a member of the U.S. national team at the

1930 FIFA World Cup The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, ...

before retiring from Clyde F.C. in 1941. His brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

was a Scottish international goalkeeper who played for Hibs and Clyde, and won the 1939 Scottish FA Cup with Clyde. Each of the brothers apparently left school at a young age to become apprentice riveters at Troon Shipyard.James Brown biography
While working as a riveter, Brown also began his football career with Cumnock Juniors before moving to Glenafton Athletic at nearby

New Cumnock New Cumnock is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It expanded during the coal-mining era from the late 18th century, and mining remained its key industry until its pits were shut in the 1960s. The village is southeast of Cumnock, and east of ...

in June 1938.

Professional

In October 1938, Glenafton Athletic transferred Brown to

. Despite Brown being am amateur Ipswich sent Glenafton a 'handsome cheque'. However,

soon intervened and Brown went to work as a riveter in the Troon Shipyard, along with his three brothers. At the time, Brown's oldest brother Jim, who had recently retired from Clyde F.C., was an outspoken union activist. The four brothers were exempt from the draft as members of an essential war time industry. However, Jim's union activities led to the Troon Shipyard management removing the brothers' draft exemptions. To avoid the draft, John joined the Navy and Tom became a Commando. Their brother Jim was found to be physically exempt from military service due to punctured eardrums. In 1946, Tom returned to Ipswich Town, seeing time in only one first team game. However, he gained the starting position during the 1947–1948 season and held that until 1950. During the 1950–1951 season, he played only three first team games and in August 1951, Brown left Ipswich and moved to

Bury Town Bury Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club, based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Ram Meadow. History Early history The club was established by William Lake at a meeti ...

where he finished his career.

References

External links

*
Tom Brown at Pride of Anglia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tom 1919 births 2000 deaths Scottish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Cumnock Juniors F.C. players Footballers from Troon Glenafton Athletic F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Bury Town F.C. players British Army personnel of World War II British Army Commandos soldiers English Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Military personnel from South Ayrshire 20th-century Scottish sportsmen