Jim Brown (footballer, born 1908)

Jim Brown

Personal information
Date of birth	(1908-12-31)December 31, 1908
Place of birth	Kilmarnock, Scotland
Date of death
Place of death	Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, U.S.
Height
Position(s)	Wing forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1927	Bayonne Rovers
1928-1929	Newark Skeeters	17	(7)
1929	New York Nationals	1	(0)
1929-1930	New York Giants	14	(10)
Fall 1930	New York Soccer Club	24	(6)
Spring 1931	Brooklyn Wanderers	16	(6)
Fall 1931	Newark Americans	1	(0)
1932-1934	Manchester United	40	(17)
1935-1936	Brentford	1	(0)
1936-1937	Tottenham Hotspur	4	(0)
1937-1939	Guildford City	150	(148)
1939	Clyde
1950-1952	Greenport United
International career
1930	United States	4	(1)
Managerial career
1948-1950	Greenwich High School
1950-1952	Greenport United
1952-1974	Brunswick School
1956-1958	Elizabeth Falcons
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James "Jim" Brown (December 31, 1908 – November 9, 1994) was a Scottish American association football player who played for the United States men's national soccer team at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, scoring the only goal of the American team in their 6-1 semi-final loss to Argentina. He began his career in the American Soccer League before moving to England and then Scotland. After retiring from playing, he coached at the youth, senior amateur, and professional levels. He was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1986.

Youth

While born in Kilmarnock, Brown grew up in Troon, the oldest of four brothers, two who played professionally as goalkeepers. His brother, Jock also earned a cap with Scotland, while youngest brother Tom player professionally in England. Brown became an apprentice riveter at the Troon Shipyard when he was 13. At some point, his father deserted the family and moved to the United States. In 1927, Brown left Scotland to search for his father, settling in Westfield, New Jersey and finding work as a riveter in a factory.

Amateur career

Brown never played organized football in Scotland as a youth. When he arrived in the United States, he joined the Bayonne Rovers, a local amateur team in 1927. In 1928, he signed as an amateur with the Newark Skeeters of the American Soccer League. However, the league suspended the Skeeters in September 1928 as part of the "Soccer War". Newark then joined two other suspended ASL teams and several others from the Southern New York Soccer Association to form the Eastern Professional Soccer League. Brown played seven games with Newark in the ASL and an unknown number in the EPSL, or ESL as it was better known. However, at the end of the season, he returned to the ASL when he signed with the New York Nationals.

National team

In 1930, Brown was called up to the U.S.national team as it prepared for the 1930 FIFA World Cup. At the time, national team requirements were less stringent and Brown was selected based on his father’s, not his own, citizenship. Brown played all three U.S. games in the cup as the team went to the semifinals, scoring the only goal for the US in the 89th minute. Following their elimination, the U.S. played a series of exhibition games throughout South America against professional and regional teams in Uruguay and Brazil. Brown scored one goal in the last exhibition game against Botafogo F.C. in Brazil. Only one, a 4–3 loss to Brazil counted as a full international. That was Brown’s last of his four caps with the U.S. national team.

International goals

United States' goal tally first

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	26 July 1930	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Argentina	1–6	1–6	1930 FIFA World Cup

Professional career

United States

In 1930, Brown became a professional with the New York Giants. Soon after, he was called into the U.S. national team for the 1930 World Cup. On his return from Uruguay, he rejoined his team, now under new ownership and known as the New York Soccer Club. He played the fall 1930 season with New York S.C. then moved to the Brooklyn Wanderers for the 1931 spring season. Brown moved to the Newark Americans for the fall 1931 season, but by this time the ASL was collapsing. Therefore, he decided to return to Scotland in 1932.

England

Based on his success in the U.S. both professionally and with the national team, several teams from both England and Scotland expressed an interest in signing Brown. As the ship he was on neared the dock, representatives from these teams awaited him. However, Scott Duncan, manager of Manchester United, took a tugboat out to the liner and signed Brown on board. Brown played from 1932 to 1934 with United, scoring seventeen goals in forty games, second highest on the team. Notably, he scored directly from a free kick in his first game with them. While Brown scored regularly with United, he alienated the team management with his outspoken support for a players’ union. In May 1935, United transferred Brown to Brentford, but his union activities quickly soured his relationship with the team ownership. He made only one appearance for the first team, but scored 53 goals in 73 games for the reserves and won the 1934/35 London Challenge Cup with the side.

In September 1936, Brentford sent Brown to Tottenham Hotspur. In his one season there, he played only four first team games, but scored twenty-one goals in thirty games for the reserves. In July of 1937, Brown moved to the semi-professional Guildford City of the Southern Football League. Over his two seasons with Guildford City, Brown scored 148 goals in 150 games and helped the club win the Southern League title during the 1937-38 season. During the 1938-'39 season, Brown recorded 5 Hat-Tricks and scored 7 goals (6 of them headers) in one Game Vs Exeter City. He then moved north to finish his career with Scottish First Division club Clyde, where he played in at least one game with his brother John against Queen's Park. Just like his debut with Manchester United, he scored directly from a corner kick. He retired due to injuries soon after.

Coaching career

In 1948, he returned to the United States where he became the head coach of the Greenwich High School soccer team. Two years later, he joined several other men in forming the Connecticut State Amateur League as well as Greenport United. When his son, George began playing for Greenport, Brown joined him for two seasons as a player-coach. He then coached the Brunswick School soccer team for twenty-two years and the Elizabeth Falcons of the American Soccer League from 1956 to 1958. Brown was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Connecticut State Hall of Fame in 2000. His son George was inducted in 1995.

Personal life

Having retired from playing professionally in 1939, Brown resumed his trade as a riveter in the Troon Shipyard.

Honours

FIFA World Cup, US National Team, 3rd Place: 1930

Brentford Reserves

• London Challenge Cup (1): 1934-35

Guildford City

• Southern Football League (1): 1937-38

External links

• Profile at the National Soccer Hall of Fame