Bobby Brown (footballer)

:"For other uses, see Bobby Brown"Robert "Bobby" Brown (born 19 March, 1923 in Dunipace, Stirlingshire) is a former Scottish footballer and football manager.

Bobby Brown made his debut as a goalkeeper for Queen's Park in 1939. He went on to establish himself as the first-choice goalkeeper for the next two seasons, but like many others at this time, his appearances were interrupted by the Second World War, where he served in the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot.

Brown played in several war time internationals, and in his last season at Hampden in season 1945-46 he shared the Queen's goalkeeper's jersey with another future Scottish international, Ronnie Simpson. His form was rewarded with a full international call up, and in January 1946 he made his Scotland debut in a friendly against Belgium. He remains the last amateur player to earn a full international cap for Scotland, and is also the last player to earn a full Scotland cap whilst still a signed player at Hampden.

At the end of the 1945-46 season, he left Queen's Park for Rangers, where he played for ten years. During his time at Rangers, he won 5 League championships and 4 Scottish Cups. He also won a further five caps for Scotland before moving to Falkirk in 1956. He played at Brockville for a further two years before retiring from the playing field in 1958 and becoming manager at St Johnstone.

Bobby became the first full-time Scotland manager in 1967, and his first international match as manager was the famous 3-2 victory over world champions England at Wembley Stadium. This game also saw Brown give his goalkeeping understudy from his Hampden days, Ronnie Simpson, his international debut.

Bobby continued as Scotland manager until 1971, but often found his Scotland squads depleted by club demands and results suffered accordingly. After finishing with Scotland in 1971, he turned to his business interests outside football, although he did remain involved in the game, scouting for Plymouth Argyle for several years. He is now retired and lives in Helensburgh.

External links

*SFA Profile|id=113239|name=Bobby Brown