William Ian Brown (6 September 1910 – 15 January 1993) was a professional footballer who played a number of positions in the Football League for Brentford, Luton Town, Leyton Orient and Huddersfield Town.

Buster Brown
Personal information
Full name William Ian Brown[1]
Date of birth (1910-09-06)6 September 1910
Place of birth Silvertown, England
Date of death 15 January 1993(1993-01-15) (aged 82)[2]
Place of death Ealing, England
Position(s) Utility player
Youth career
Fairbairn House
0000–1930 Silvertown
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1930–1934 Luton Town 49 (4)
1934–1937 Huddersfield Town 20 (2)
1937–1947 Brentford 92 (2)
1947–1948 Leyton Orient 26 (0)
Chingford Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Brown began his career in non-League football with Fairbairn House and Silvertown, before joining Third Division South club Luton Town in 1930.[1] He made shy of 50 league appearances in four seasons at Kenilworth Road, before moving to the top flight with Huddersfield Town in 1934.[1] He was used sparingly before joining First Division rivals Brentford in March 1937 as a replacement for Dai Richards.[3][4] He quickly became a regular with the Bees, playing in both full back positions, at half back and centre forward during the 2+12 years before the Second World War intervened.[4] Brown remained with Brentford during the war, with his 246 appearances being the most by any Brentford player during wartime.[5] He dropped down to the Fourth Division to sign for Leyton Orient in May 1947,[2] before ending his career in the Southern League with Chingford Town the following year.[4]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Luton Town 1930–31[6] Third Division South 6 2 0 0 6 2
1932–33[6] 12 0 2 0 14 0
1933–34[6] 8 1 0 0 1[a] 0 9 1
1934–35[6] 23 1 3 0 2[a] 0 28 1
Total 49 4 5 0 3 0 57 4
Huddersfield Town 1934–35[3] First Division 1 1 1 1
1935–36[3] 19 1 2 0 21 1
Total 20 2 2 0 22 2
Brentford 1936–37[5] First Division 10 0 10 0
1937–38[5] 41 0 4 0 1[b] 0 46 0
1938–39[5] 33 2 1 0 34 2
1945–46[5] 8 0 8 0
1946–47[5] First Division 8 0 0 0 8 0
Total 92 2 13 0 1 0 106 2
Career total 161 8 20 0 4 0 185 8
  1. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Third Division South Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in Empire Exhibition Trophy

Honours

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Brentford

References

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  • Ian Thomas, Owen Thomas, Alan Hodgson, John Ward (2007). 99 Years and Counting: Stats and Stories. Huddersfield Town A.F.C. ISBN 978-0955728105.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  1. ^ a b c Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 43. ISBN 978-1905891610.
  2. ^ a b "Buster Brown". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Player Profile - Brown, Buster". Huddersfield Town AFC Archive. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 29. ISBN 0955294916.
  5. ^ a b c d e f White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 374–379. ISBN 0951526200.
  6. ^ a b c d "Buster Brown". Hatters Heritage. Retrieved 1 October 2022.