Brawn Billy “Gansey” Image 7 Brentford 1911

Description

Wellingborough, Northamptonshire born winger Billy Brawn joined hometown club Wellingborough in 1895 before moving to Southern League Northampton Town in 1898, signing for First Division Sheffield United in January 1900 for £125 and making his Football League debut at Aston Villa in March 1900, scoring 3 goals in his opening 5 matches for The Blades. However first team opportunities were limited and he joined Aston Villa in December 1901 after just 14 appearances. At Villa Park he made 107 appearances, scoring 20 goals, and was in the Villa team which won the FA Cup in 1905 as Villa beat Newcastle United 2-0 at Crystal Palace.

He made his England international bow in a 2-2 draw against Wales at The Racecourse Ground in February 1904 winning a second cap a month later against Ireland in Belfast in a 3-1 victory. Middlesbrough signed him in March 1906 and in two years at Ayresome Park he scored 6 goals in 58 appearances. He then joined Chelsea for a £950 transfer fee in November 1907 and after 11 goals in 99 appearances he ended his career at Brentford signing for them in May 1911.

He retired in 1913, having scored 8 goals in 69 appearances for The Bees, but came out of retirement during the First World War to make three further wartime league appearances in 1916 and 1917, he then made his final career appearance which came in the colours of Tottenham Hotspur, Brawn playing when the White Hart Lane club turned up a man short for a London Combination fixture versus Brentford at Griffin Park on 8th November 1918. Brawn served on the Brentford Board of Directors in 1919 and acted as “advisory manager” from 1919 until 1921.