Jim Brown (footballer, born 1952)

James Grady Brown (born 11 May 1952) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. During his career, he made over 300 appearances in the Football League and spent four years in the North American Soccer League playing for the Detroit Express, Washington Diplomats and Chicago Sting. He also gained one cap for Scotland in 1975.[4]

For other people with the same name, see James Brown (disambiguation).

Jim Brown
Personal information
Full name James Grady Brown[1]
Date of birth (1952-05-11) 11 May 1952
Place of birth Coatbridge, Scotland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1972 Albion Rovers 94 (0)
1972–1973 Chesterfield 47 (0)
1973–1978 Sheffield United 170 (0)
1979–1980 Detroit Express 60 (0)
1979–1981 Detroit Express (indoor) 12 (0)
1981 Washington Diplomats 31 (1)
1981–1982 Chicago Sting (indoor) 4 (0)
1982 Chicago Sting 4 (0)
1982–1983 Cardiff City 3 (0)
1983 Kettering Town 10 (0)
1983–1989 Chesterfield 135 (1)
Total 570 (2)
National team
1974–1975 Scotland under-23[3] 5 (0)
1975 Scotland 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

As a teenager, Brown attended St. Ambrose High School in Lanarkshire.[5]

Club career

Brown began his career at Albion Rovers, appearing over 100 times for the club after making his debut at the age of 16.[6] In 1972, he played in a pre-season friendly against Chesterfield and impressed the club's management. Several months later, in December 1972, he joined the club, turning down a move to Brighton & Hove Albion.[7] He quickly established himself in the first-team and attracted the attention of First Division side Sheffield United, joining the Blades on the final day of the transfer window in the 1973–74 season.[7] He went on to spend five years at Bramall Lane, winning the club's player of the year award in 1975, before moving to the North American Soccer League with Detroit Express in 1979.[2]

He returned to Britain in 1982, spending a brief time at Cardiff City before joining Kettering Town as cover for the injured Steve Conroy. He made his league debut for the Poppies in 3–2 defeat to Frickley Athletic and made 18 appearances during the 1982–83 season.[8] At the start of the following season, he rejoined Chesterfield as the club began suffering a financial crisis.[9] He competed with Chris Marples for the starting spot for several years before Marples departure to Stockport County in 1987. Several years after officially retiring Brown was named as a substitute on two occasions in his forties, the 1995 Football League Third Division play-off Final and the first round of the FA Cup in 1997, at the age of 45.[7]

International career

Having represented Scotland at under-23, Brown was called up for several matches in the British Home Championship as understudy to Stewart Kennedy. When Kennedy suffered an ankle injury during a defeat to England and was unable to recover for the following match against Romania at Stadionul Național in Bucharest during qualifying for UEFA Euro 1976,[6] handing Brown his first cap.[10] The match, played in front of 80,000 fans, ended in a 1–1 draw.[11]

Later life

Since 1986, he has been the commercial manager at Chesterfield. During his time in the role, Brown, along with three other members of staff, began keeping records of the club's financial activity under chairman Darren Brown after becoming concerned about his business practices.[12] He later testified in front of a Football League panel against the then chairman and the records were eventually used to help convict Darren Brown of fraud in 2005, being sentenced to four years in prison.[7][13]

Brown later stated "we knew the proper way to run the club. In the very first week, Darren Brown was paying money out with no invoices, so we began to keep a log.[...] We had to stand up in front of Darren Brown and tell the truth, which we did to get Brown out and save the club".[14] He also helped the club in a number of other capacities, including running the club lottery and writing the match programmes.[7]

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References
  1. "James Grady Brown". London Hearts. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  2. "Jim Brown". NASL Jerseys. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. "Jim Brown". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  4. "Jim Brown". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  5. "Sports Hall of Fame". St. Ambrose High School. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  6. "Jim Brown". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  7. "Jim Brown". Sky is Blue... Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  8. "Jim Brown". Poppies Fans. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  9. Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 30. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
  10. "Scotland – International Matches 1971–1975". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  11. "Jim Brown's Scotland cap". Chesterfield F.C. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  12. "Jim Brown Named Club Hero". Chesterfield F.C. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  13. "Chairman jailed for 'milking football club dry'". The Telegraph. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  14. "Prison finally catches up with Chesterfield's crooked Spireite". The Guardian. 28 September 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
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