HARRY BROWN

Full Name: Henry Summers Brown

Born: 18 September 1907

Came from: Chesterfield   Went to: Reading

First game: 25 December 1936   Last game: 29 October 1938

Appearances: 46 (46/0)   Goals: 12

Born in Kirkcaldy, Brown began his career with Wemyss Athletic in 1927, before coming to the attention of Hibernian, for whom he signed professionally in 1928.

His debut could hardly have gone better. Aged 21, he scored in an away match against Heart of Midlothian in the Edinburgh derby, securing a 1-1 draw in October 1928. Over the next four seasons at Easter Road, he made 119 appearances and scored 35 goals in all competitions.

At the end of September 1932, he moved south of the border to try his luck with Football League Third Division North side Darlington, where he spent the following two years. During his time in the north east, he played 57 times and scored 17 goals for the Quakers.

In 1934, he moved to league rivals Chesterfield, signing for the club in a kiosk at York station. He enjoyed the most successful spell of his career during three seasons with the Spireites and was a member of their 1935-36 Third Division North championship-winning side. In total, he made 111 appearances and scored 25 goals.

Moving to the south west, he signed for Argyle as one of Bob Jack's recruits late in 1936. He played two full seasons at Home Park and five games of a third, also appearing under Jack Tresadern after Bob Jack's initial tenure had ended. He scored 12 goals in 45 appearances for the club, without fully establishing himself as a regular.

He left Home Park for Reading in 1938, where he made 26 appearances and scored four goals during the 1938-39 season.

Some sources suggest that, following the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he played a few wartime games for Wolves before joining Hull City in 1946 for his final season in the Football League. However, these records relate to a different player of the same name, a Workington-born centre-half, whose details have been conflated with those of this Harry Brown.

His playing career was probably brought to an end by the war. He was 31 when hostilities began in September 1939 and would have been approaching 37 by the time they ended in 1945.

After his football career ended, he returned to his native Kirkcaldy, where he passed away in December 1993, aged 86. His most recent occupation, recorded on his death certificate, was general labourer for the Ministry of Defence (MoD).