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Dave Brown (rugby league footballer Easts)
Encyclopedia
David Michael Brown born Kogarah, New South Wales
, died on 23 February 1974 in Sydney) was one of Australia's greatest rugby league
footballers.
Brown in his distinctive headgear
was said to be one of the most admired sights in the game during the 1930s. He won two premierships with Easts and scored so many points, tries
and goals
and established so many records (some may never be bettered) that he is referred to as "the Bradman of league". In 2003 Brown was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
and in 2008 he was named in the New South Wales rugby league team
of the century.
. Brown attended Sydney's Waverley College
under the tuition of Arthur Hennessy
, Australia's first ever rugby league test Captain, who was the school sporting coach at the time.
joined the Eastern Suburbs club
straight out of school. After just a handful of lower grade games Brown was promoted to the top grade. The following year aged just eighteen Brown was selected to represent his state – NSW in 3 interstate matches against Queensland. Soon after the teenager lost all his hair
, after contracting a virus
while swimming and took to wearing a hairpiece to cover his baldness.
At the beginning of the 1932 season, aged just nineteen years and twelve days, Brown was named captain of the Eastern Suburbs club. The following year he was selected to tour England with the 1933–34 Kangaroos
. On the boat trip over one of his team mates, unable to stand the sight of Brown's hairpiece any longer, tossed it out one of the ship's porthole
s, causing him to begin wearing his trademark headgear. On the tour he played in 32 matches, including all 3 Tests, scoring 285 points, at the time the greatest number ever attained by an Australian player on tour from 19 tries
and 114 goals. In an exhibition match played in on a snow covered ground between England and Australia, (the first rugby league game played on French soil) Brown scored 6 tries and kicked 9 goals for a total of 36 points.
side to the 1934 minor premiership, losing to Western Suburbs
in the premiership decider. In the following season – 1935, Easts
lost just 1 match and captured their fifth premiership,
That 1935 season was Brown's best. In just fifteen club matches he scored 244 points (38 tries
, 65 goals). That season record try tally still stands. After Brown only Newtown
winger
Ray Preston has ever more than 30 tries in a season (34 in the 1954 season). In the first round match against Canterbury-Bankstown
Brown scored a premiership record 45 points (5 tries, 15 goals), with the 15 goal tally also standing as the record for goals in a match. In the second round match against Canterbury-Bankstown he scored a further 38 points(6 tries, 10 goals), which stands as the record for the second most points in a premiership match. He recorded further records in round 16 when he scored 26 (4 tries, 7 goals) against North Sydney
then in round 18 against Balmain
he notched up a further 32 points, from 6 tries and 7 goals. The point scoring wizard amassed 385 points that year (incorporating all Eastern Suburbs and representative matches). What make his records all the more impressive is that during the seasons 1934,'35 and '36 he was not the only goal kicker at the club with team mate Jack Beaton
taking many of the easier shots for goal.
In September 1935, at just 22 years and 117 days Brown was named as the youngest ever Australian captain, and led his country to a series victory over New Zealand. In 1936 Easts again took out the NSWRL season title, this time finishing undefeated.
, a four year deal worth 1,000 pounds for the first season.
Brown played 93 matches for the Warrington Wolves, scoring 326 points – 48 tries and 91 goals. In a cup semi final against St Helens Brown kicked what he considers to be his finest goal, it is recounted this way.
But Brown never enjoyed quite the same level of success in England; he bought out the final year of his contract and returned home.
Once home Brown rejoined the Eastern Suburbs club, playing in the remaining matches of the 1939 season. In 1940 with Dave Brown appointed as captain and coach of the side, Easts
finished the year at the top of the league ladder and despite losing Brown with a leg injury, managed to capture another premiership
. 1941 was to be Brown's last season. Easts again finished first at the end of the regular season but went down to St George in the premiership decider. Brown at twenty-nine years old announced his retirement following the match.
Dave Brown 'The Bradman Of League' died from cancer in 1974, he is survived by a sister, a nephew and his records.
Hall of Fame. Up until 1986 the award for the best player in the Grand Final
each year was known as the Dave Brown Medal. Dave Brown was also named in the centres, alongside Dally Messenger
in the Eastern Suburbs club's greatest team. Additionally, a plaque in the Walk of Honour at the Sydney Cricket Ground
commemorates his career.
In February 2008, Brown was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL
and ARL
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Also in 2008 Brown was named in New South Wales' rugby league team of the century.
Kogarah, New South Wales
Kogarah is a suburb of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area...
, died on 23 February 1974 in Sydney) was one of Australia's greatest rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballers.
Brown in his distinctive headgear
Headgear
Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head.Headgear serve a variety of purposes:...
was said to be one of the most admired sights in the game during the 1930s. He won two premierships with Easts and scored so many points, tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
and goals
Field goal (rugby)
A drop goal, also referred to as a dropped goal or field goal, is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league. A drop goal cannot be scored in open play by punting the ball, and instead must be scored by drop kicking the ball over the crossbar and between the uprights. After the...
and established so many records (some may never be bettered) that he is referred to as "the Bradman of league". In 2003 Brown was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
The Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame honors players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian...
and in 2008 he was named in the New South Wales rugby league team
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
of the century.
Childhood
As a child Brown lost the top of his thumb in a lawn-mowing accident. While playing football at school he badly broke an arm, dislocating the elbow and causing severe nerve damage which cost him the use of two fingers on his right hand. Despite these setbacks Brown was an all-round sportsman – an A-grade tennis player, champion junior surfer and a representative cricketerCricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
. Brown attended Sydney's Waverley College
Waverley College
Waverley College is a Roman Catholic, secondary, day school for boys, located at Waverley, in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
under the tuition of Arthur Hennessy
Arthur Hennessy
Arthur Stephen "Ash" Hennessy was an Australian pioneer rugby league identity. He was a seminal figure in the creation of the South Sydney Rabbitohs for whom he played and later coached...
, Australia's first ever rugby league test Captain, who was the school sporting coach at the time.
Stellar early career
The powerfully built centreRugby league positions
A rugby league football team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Players are divided into two general categories: "forwards" and "backs"....
joined the Eastern Suburbs club
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
straight out of school. After just a handful of lower grade games Brown was promoted to the top grade. The following year aged just eighteen Brown was selected to represent his state – NSW in 3 interstate matches against Queensland. Soon after the teenager lost all his hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
, after contracting a virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
while swimming and took to wearing a hairpiece to cover his baldness.
KangaROOS
KangaROOS are an American brand of sneaker originally produced from 1979 through the 1980s, with a later revival that continues in present. They were notable for having a small zippered pocket on the side of the shoe, large enough for a small amount of loose change, keys, or more recently,...
. On the boat trip over one of his team mates, unable to stand the sight of Brown's hairpiece any longer, tossed it out one of the ship's porthole
Porthole
A porthole is a generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...
s, causing him to begin wearing his trademark headgear. On the tour he played in 32 matches, including all 3 Tests, scoring 285 points, at the time the greatest number ever attained by an Australian player on tour from 19 tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
and 114 goals. In an exhibition match played in on a snow covered ground between England and Australia, (the first rugby league game played on French soil) Brown scored 6 tries and kicked 9 goals for a total of 36 points.
Record breaking years
Once home in Sydney, Brown led a star-studded EastsSydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
side to the 1934 minor premiership, losing to Western Suburbs
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
in the premiership decider. In the following season – 1935, Easts
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
lost just 1 match and captured their fifth premiership,
That 1935 season was Brown's best. In just fifteen club matches he scored 244 points (38 tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
, 65 goals). That season record try tally still stands. After Brown only Newtown
Newtown Jets
The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSWRL Premier League competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season...
winger
Rugby league positions
A rugby league football team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Players are divided into two general categories: "forwards" and "backs"....
Ray Preston has ever more than 30 tries in a season (34 in the 1954 season). In the first round match against Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
Brown scored a premiership record 45 points (5 tries, 15 goals), with the 15 goal tally also standing as the record for goals in a match. In the second round match against Canterbury-Bankstown he scored a further 38 points(6 tries, 10 goals), which stands as the record for the second most points in a premiership match. He recorded further records in round 16 when he scored 26 (4 tries, 7 goals) against North Sydney
North Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
then in round 18 against Balmain
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
he notched up a further 32 points, from 6 tries and 7 goals. The point scoring wizard amassed 385 points that year (incorporating all Eastern Suburbs and representative matches). What make his records all the more impressive is that during the seasons 1934,'35 and '36 he was not the only goal kicker at the club with team mate Jack Beaton
Jack Beaton
John Beaton was an Australian rugby league player, a national representative of the 1930s whose club career was played with Sydney's Eastern Suburbs club. He has been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century....
taking many of the easier shots for goal.
In September 1935, at just 22 years and 117 days Brown was named as the youngest ever Australian captain, and led his country to a series victory over New Zealand. In 1936 Easts again took out the NSWRL season title, this time finishing undefeated.
Warrington and final playing years
At the end of the 1936 season Brown accepted an offer from English rugby league club, WarringtonWarrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
, a four year deal worth 1,000 pounds for the first season.
Brown played 93 matches for the Warrington Wolves, scoring 326 points – 48 tries and 91 goals. In a cup semi final against St Helens Brown kicked what he considers to be his finest goal, it is recounted this way.
"with the scores locked at 2-all in the dying moments Warrington were awarded a penalty near the touch-lineTouch-lineThe touch line is the line on either side of the playing area of a games of rugby league, rugby union and association football . In many other sports it is called a side-line....
and five-yards on their own side of half-way, Brown took the shot, guiding it between the posts to give Warrington a 4–2 win and a spot in the Cup final."
But Brown never enjoyed quite the same level of success in England; he bought out the final year of his contract and returned home.
Once home Brown rejoined the Eastern Suburbs club, playing in the remaining matches of the 1939 season. In 1940 with Dave Brown appointed as captain and coach of the side, Easts
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
finished the year at the top of the league ladder and despite losing Brown with a leg injury, managed to capture another premiership
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
. 1941 was to be Brown's last season. Easts again finished first at the end of the regular season but went down to St George in the premiership decider. Brown at twenty-nine years old announced his retirement following the match.
Post-football
After his retirement from the game Brown took up a position as the games liaison officer, promoting rugby league in schools. He also spent time coaching and promoting the game in South AfricaDave Brown 'The Bradman Of League' died from cancer in 1974, he is survived by a sister, a nephew and his records.
Accolades
In 2003 he was admitted into the Australian Rugby LeagueAustralian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
Hall of Fame. Up until 1986 the award for the best player in the Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
each year was known as the Dave Brown Medal. Dave Brown was also named in the centres, alongside Dally Messenger
Dally Messenger
Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer, recognised as one of the greatest ever players in either code. Messenger, or 'The Master' as he was dubbed, represented his country in both rugby football codes, playing two rugby union tests and seven...
in the Eastern Suburbs club's greatest team. Additionally, a plaque in the Walk of Honour at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
commemorates his career.
In February 2008, Brown was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
and ARL
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Also in 2008 Brown was named in New South Wales' rugby league team of the century.