BROWN, William Dallas Fyfe (1959-67)
Position: Goalkeeper
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 10st 2lbs
Born: Arbroath, Angus, 8 October, 1931
Died: Simoce, Ontario, Canada, 1 December, 2004
Signed from Dundee June 1959
Transferred to Northampton Town October 1966
Also played for: Carnoustie Panmure, Dundee, Northampton Town, Toronto Falcons, Scotland
Spurs Record:
Debut: 22 August, 1959 v Newcastle United (FL) (a) won 5-1
Appearances: League 222, FA Cup 23, Europe 17
As a schoolboy Bill Brown had a trial for Scotland at outside-left – the number 11 on his back. Fortunately for us, the selectors decided he was not up to the required standard. The next time he was invited for a trial he wore a different colour jersey to his team-mates with just a single ‘1’ on the reverse. This time he was deemed good enough and his future as a goalkeeper was determined.
Brown’s first senior club was Dundee who he helped win the Scottish League Cup in 1952 and his first full cap came against France in Scotland’s last match of the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden. His fourth cap was against England in April 1959 when Brown was the star of the show even though the Scots lost. It was his performance that day that convinced Bill Nicholson that Brown was the keeper he had been looking for.
The legendary Ted Ditchburn had reached the end of his remarkable career and although Ron Reynolds had proved a capable deputy, Nicholson did not think he was quite good enough for the team he wanted to build. It took a cheque for £16,500, a hefty fee in those days, to persuade Dundee to part with Brown. He soon proved a worthwhile successor to Ditchburn and Nicholson later regarded Brown’s signing as one of his best.
Brown was tremendously athletic, able to move quickly from one side of his goal to the other and with a remarkable reach. His handling was immaculate, no doubt a legacy of the basketball he used to excel in at school. That was also apparent in his distribution of the ball. More often than not he would eschew the long punt downfield that might give the ball back to the opposition in favour of an accurate throw to one of his own team, quickly turning defence into attack.
Lean and wiry, Brown was not heavily built. He could be susceptible to high crosses and heavy challenges but with big Maurice Norman in front of him that was not a problem. Brown would leave Norman to deal with the physical stuff while he focussed on his positioning, ready to pick up the pieces.
Solid, reliable and confident in his own ability, Brown inspired confidence in his defenders and never was this more apparent than during our early European exploits. We were used to dominating games, over-running opponents with the power of our attacking play. Against top quality European opposition, we were often on the back foot, under pressure and at risk of being overwhelmed. It was then Brown came to the fore, organising his defence, calming them and pulling off one inspiring save after another.
Almost ever-present through our early 1960s successes in the League, FA Cup and European Cup-Winners’ Cup, it was only with the arrival of Pat Jennings and his precocious talents that Brown’s place in the team came under threat. For a couple of season he vied with the young Irishman for the number one shirt but eventually Nicholson recognised Jennings represented Spurs’ future. In October 1966 Brown’s great service to Spurs was recognised with a cut-price transfer to Northampton. He only remained with the Cobblers till the end of the season when he joined Toronto Falcons and eventually settled in Canada.