Bob Brown (footballer, born 1870)

For other people named Bob Brown, see Bob Brown (disambiguation).

Robert Neilson Brown (19 August 1870 – 17 August 1943), sometimes misidentified as J. Brown, was a Scottish footballer whose career included periods at Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers.^[2]

Bob Brown

Personal information
Full name	Robert Neilson Brown
Date of birth	19 August 1870
Place of birth	Port Eglinton, Scotland
Date of death	17 August 1943(1943-08-17) (aged 72)[1]
Place of death	Farnworth, England
Position(s)	Inside forward Centre half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Blantyre Thistle
1888–1891	Cambuslang	27	(12)
1891–1894	The Wednesday	45	(8)
1894–1895	Third Lanark	10	(2)
1895–1902	Bolton Wanderers	125	(14)
1897	→ Burnley (loan)	4	(1)
Total		211	(37)
International career
1890	Scotland	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Brown was born in Port Eglinton in the south of Glasgow, but moved with his family to Halfway, a district of Cambuslang, during his childhood.^[1] He began his senior career as an at local club Cambuslang F.C. who were founder members of the Scottish Football League in 1890. He signed for The Wednesday before the club gained admission to the English Football League in 1892, making a name for himself when scoring in a 4–1 defeat of League side Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup shortly after arriving in January of that year.^[3] He went on to make 45 appearances in Wednesday's first two League seasons^[4] and, after a brief spell back in his native Scotland with Third Lanark, he then joined Bolton Wanderers in 1895, moving to a more defensive role and latterly operating as a capable reserve in almost any outfield position as needed; he made 149 appearances at Burnden Park, 94 of them in the top flight.^[5] Brown also briefly had a loan spell at Burnley in 1897, making four appearances but was unable to save them from relegation. He retired in 1902 and settled in Lancashire.^[1]

International career

While a teenager at Cambuslang, Brown was selected once for the Scotland national team against Wales in 1890.^[6][7] The following year he played for the Glasgow FA in their annual challenge match against Sheffield,^[8] and after moving to that city he featured in a 'Midlands v North' representative fixture.^[1]