23 Facts About Eddy Brown

Edwin Brown was an English footballer who played as a centre forward.

Eddy Brown played professionally for a number of clubs, but the peak of his career was spent with Birmingham City during their most successful period in the 1950s.

Eddy Brown was born in Jutland Street, Preston, Lancashire and attended St Ignatius primary school in the town.

Eddy Brown was a religious boy, and at the age of twelve began to attend the De La Salle Catholic college on Guernsey with a view to taking Holy Orders.

Eddy Brown studied at the college for eight years, during which time the boys were evacuated to the mainland when the Germans invaded, a disruption which did not prevent Brown achieving four A levels and laying the foundations for his lifelong love of Shakespeare.

Eddy Brown joined Preston at a time when Bill Shankly was nearing the end of his Preston playing career; Brown believes his success in the game owed much to the lessons learned from Shankly in that first year:.

Eddy Brown said football was all about the soul, enjoying your life, but always keep striving for that bit extra.

Eddy Brown could be crude, rude and outspoken, but it would be football for breakfast, dinner and tea.

Eddy Brown was an astonishing and genuine man and football was his obsession.

When Eddy Brown joined Southampton, he found it difficult to replace Wayman who had become a cult-hero with The Dell crowds.

Nonetheless, Eddy Brown was able to overcome this difficult start and, helped by his pace and deadly right foot, he came close to emulating his predecessor's scoring achievements.

Eddy Brown had failed to settle at Southampton, despite scoring 34 goals in 59 starts while at the club, and in March 1952, having lost his place to Walter Judd, he was granted a transfer to Coventry City of the Third Division, where he continued to score goals at an impressive rate.

Eddy Brown moved on to Second Division Leyton Orient in December 1958, where despite arriving halfway through the season he still finished joint leading scorer.

The strengths of Eddy Brown's game were his pace and movement and a good right-foot finish, in his own words:.

Eddy Brown was noted for his goal celebrations, many years before they became commonplace; his trademark celebration was to shake hands with the corner flag, though he was known to cuddle a policeman behind the goal or to remove a press photographer's hat and throw it into the crowd.

Eddy Brown's enthusiasm is infectious and embraces all, from the policeman on the perimeter to the referee and enemy in the middle.

Eddy Brown enjoyed himself as much as a shiny faced youth tobogganing down some slope on a tin tray.

Eddy Brown was fond of quoting Shakespeare, whether at press conferences or in the dressing room, and while at Birmingham wrote a weekly column in the local paper, the Birmingham Mail.

Eddy Brown's ambition was to become a teacher once his playing days were over.

Eddy Brown went on to teach games at Preston Catholic College; one of his pupils was Mark Lawrenson, future Irish international footballer and European Cup-winner with Liverpool.

When it became obligatory for teachers to be qualified, Eddy Brown enrolled at Durham University at the age of 54 where he acquired his teaching certificate, armed with which he taught French until his retirement.

Eddy Brown's influence extended throughout the club, from acting as "front man" for club functions to looking after the pitches.

Eddy Brown spent the last months of his life in a Preston nursing home and died, aged 86, on 12 July 2012.