George Brown (soccer)

Infobox Football biography
playername= George Brown


fullname = George Brown
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1935|8|19
cityofbirth = Ealing
countryofbirth = England
height = height|ft=5|in=4
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Outside Right
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1950–1952
1952
1953–1956
1956–1957
1959–1960
clubs = Greenport United
New York Americans
New York German-Hungarians
Elizabeth Falcons
Chicago Red Lions
caps(goals) =
? (13)
nationalyears = 1957
nationalteam = United States
nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (0)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

George Brown (born August 19, 1935 in Ealing, England) is a former U.S.-English soccer forward who played his entire career in the United States. He signed with a semi-pro team in 1950 at the age of fifteen and was highly successful until suffering a knee injury in 1957. Although he continued to play until 1962, he never regained the full use of his knee. He worked for Exxon, an oil company, for over thirty years, coaching youth soccer throughout the world. He earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1957 and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Youth

While born in England, Brown spent is youth in Troon, Scotland before moving to the United States with his family in 1948. His family settled in Greenwich, Connecticut where he attended Greenwich High School. He graduated in 1952, and in 1955, became a U.S. citizen. Brown's father, Jim, had moved to the U.S. in 1927 with his father when Jim was nineteen. Jim began his professional career in the U.S. and was a member of the U.S. national team at the 1930 FIFA World Cup. However, he had moved to England in the 1932 to sign with Manchester United. In 1948, he returned to the U.S., bringing his son George with him.

Club career

Brown began his club career in 1950 as an amateur playing with his father’s semi-pro team, Greenport United, in the Connecticut State Amateur League, which his father had founded. In 1951, Greenport won the league title. In 1952, George signed with the New York Americans of the American Soccer League (ASL). However, the team fired him due to his small size. He then signed with the New York German-Hungarians of the German American Soccer League (GASL) in 1953. At that time the German-Hungarians, although playing in a small regional league, boasted some of the top U.S. players, including John Souza, Walter Bahr and Joe Maca, all future members of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. This collection of talent paid off for the German-Americans as they took three consecutive league titles and the 1956 New York State Cup. In 1953, Brown was the league’s MVP. As Brown proved himself in the GASL, the New York Americans expressed an interest in re-signing Brown, but he refused to play for the team. Instead, in 1957, he joined the Elizabeth Falcons, also known as the Polish Falcons, of the ASL. However, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the season. Even with an injury shortened season, he led the ASL with thirteen goals. He began the 1957–1958 season, but was unable to play any significant time. With a professional career no longer possible, Brown was forced to look towards other career fields.

National team

On April 4, 1957 Brown earned his only cap with the U.S. national team in a 6–0 loss to Mexico in a World Cup qualifier. ^{[http://www.rsssf.com/tablesu/usa-intres-det69.html]} He was also on the U.S. soccer team at the was a member of the U.S. team at the 1959 Pan American Games. While the U.S. took third place, Brown contributed little due to his lingering knee injury.

Army

When it became apparent that he would not fully recover from his knee injury, Brown decided to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1958. When the Army stationed him in Chicago, he played with the Chicago Red Lions. In 1960, Brown had completed his term of enlistment and decided to enter college.

College

In 1960 he entered the University of Bridgeport, a small college located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. While he entered school on an athletic scholarship his previous affiliation with professional soccer prevented him from playing collegiate soccer. Instead, he continued to play part time with the Falcons when not in school. In order to pay for his education, Brown coached the school’s freshman soccer and varsity tennis teams. He later earned a master’s degree from Columbia University.

Non-soccer career

After graduating from Bridgeport, Exxon hired Brown as a human resource manager and he would remain with the company until his retirement. During his career with the oil company, he travelled extensively throughout the United States and the Middle East. He took this opportunity to help build the sport through coaching and league administration. After retiring from Exxon, he and his wife owned tourist cottages in Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1999, they moved to New York where they both became integral parts of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, George by serving on the Hall’s Board of Directors for several years.

Coaching

Brown had gained his first coaching experience just after graduating from high school when he returned to coach his alma mater to a County Championship in 1955. Later, when an employee of Exxon, he coached youth soccer in Houston, Colorado and New Jersey. He also helped create soccer associations in Houston and Colorado. After he retired, he and his wife operated tourist cottages in Nova Scotia. Brown continued to coach youth soccer, even in retirement and in 1993, he led the local Cabot Junior/Senior High School girls soccer team to the Provincial Championship.

Brown was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1995. He and his father, Jim Brown, are the only father-son inductees into the Hall of Fame. George was also inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame in 2002.

External links

* [http://www.soccerhall.org/famers/george_brown.htm National Hall of Fame profile]
* [http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/players/alumni/index.html?player_id=18 USSoccerPlayers.com profile]