John Brown (footballer, born July 1940)

John Brown

Personal information
Full name	John Brown
Date of birth	29 July 1940
Place of birth	Wadebridge, England
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Inside forward
Youth career
	Probus School
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1958–1960	Wadebridge Town
1960–1963	Plymouth Argyle	9	(2)
1963–1968	Bristol Rovers	156	(32)
1968–1969	Wadebridge Town
Teams managed
1968–1969	Wadebridge Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

John Brown (born 29 July 1940) is a former professional footballer who played in The Football League for Plymouth Argyle and Bristol Rovers.

Brown, who was born in Wadebridge in Cornwall started playing for his home town team, Wadebridge Town in 1958. Following an unsuccessful trial for Arsenal in 1960 he joined Plymouth Argyle, but only featured nine times for their first team in his three years with the club, scoring twice.^[1]

On moving to Bristol Rovers in 1963 he made more of an impact, playing as an inside forward he made 156 appearances in the League and scored 32 goals.^[2] While playing in Bristol he decided to become a part-time player so that he could also work on his father's farm near Wadebridge, leading to him earning the nickname 'Farmer Brown', but he found the work and travelling difficult and in 1968 requested that his footballing contract was terminated. Rovers agreed, and after a single season as player-manager of his old team Wadebridge Town he retired from football altogether to become a full-time farmer. He later owned his own farm near Bodmin.^[1]

References

1. Jay, Mike; Byrne, Stephen (1994). Pirates in Profile: A Who's Who of Bristol Rovers Players. Bristol: Potten, Baber & Murray. p. 34. ISBN 0-9524835-0-5.
2. Byrne, Stephen; Jay, Mike (2003). Bristol Rovers Football Club - The Definitive History 1883-2003. Stroud: Tempus. p. 495. ISBN 0-7524-2717-2.