*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.
Bill Brown
Appearances: 9 Goals: 2
Date / Year of birth: 7th February 1943
Position: Striker
Season of first appearance: 1969/70
Season of last appearance: 1969/70
Also played for: Southampton (0), Charlton Athletic (0), Romford, Chelmsford City, Bedford Town, Gillingham (115+1,34), Portsmouth (9,2), Brentford (4,0), Dunstable Town and Ford United
Burly 6' 0" tall Croydon-born centre-forward who started his career at Southampton and then had a spell with Charlton before joining Southern Leaguers Romford. Bill was their top scorer during 1963/64, finishing the season with a total of 29 goals.
During the 1964/65 campaign Bill left Romford and signed for Chelmsford where he spent the remainder of the season before his next move took him to Bedford in August 1965.
Bill scored 17 goals in 42 games for Bedford before Gillingham's new manager Basil Hayward paid £2,000 for his services in February 1966. Hayward had just joined the club from Bedford.
A few days after signing for the Gills Bill scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 friendly win over Ipswich and he then scored on his competitive debut in a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth. Bill went on to make 116 first team appearances for Gillingham, scoring 34 goals, before transferring to Portsmouth in June 1968.
After a year at Fratton Park he moved to Brentford in July 1969 but the transfer didn't work out and Bill joined Margate in October the same year. He decided to move back into part-time football as he had a haulage business that he wanted to devote more time to.
Bill made his Margate debut in a 2-0 defeat at Poole in the Southern League on 18.10.69 and he was described by the Thanet Times as being "a player of considerable ability". Bill was especially strong in the air and he scored his first goal for Margate on 8.11.69 during a 2-1 defeat at Hillingdon. It was a spectacular strike - a scissor kick that the local paper said "ripped into the roof of the net with such velocity that the netting required immediate repairs".
On 15.11.69 Bill was in the Margate side that were thrashed 7-2 by visitors Aldershot in the FA Cup 1st Round but he struggled for form after that and only played three more first team games, scoring in the last of them - a 3-1 defeat at Hillingdon on 20.12.69. Bill then had a spell in the reserves before leaving Margate in February 1970 having scored twice from nine appearances.
He spent the remainder of the 1969/70 season back at Bedford.
In August 1970 Bill joined Dunstable and he later played for Ford United.
In 2014 Bill was living in Essex.
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
FAC |
FAT |
SLC |
KSC |
KFC | |
|
1969/70 (MFC) |
9 (72) |
0 |
2 |
SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION (13TH OF 22) |
1R |
3QR |
3R |
RU |
RU |
| Played in FA Cup 1st Round (15.11.69 - lost 7-2 at home to Aldershot). | |||||||||