The three seasons that Dublin-born Bob Brown spent at Burton Wanderers were the three seasons that the Staffordshire side spent in the Football League’s Second Division. When they finished in the bottom two in 1897 and were not re-elected, Brown-headed for Southern League Southampton, along with a younger neighbour – Arthur Chadwick of Burton Swifts, who had finished one place above the Wanderers and had secured re-election. While Chadwick would become an international, Brown was deemed by the local press to be an “average type of player”.

Even so, he ousted the regular outside-right, Jimmy Yates, in the last part of the 1897-98 season and played in the controversial, blizzard-impaired FA Cup semi-final replay against Nottingham Forest. And that was it. He was not given a contract for the following season and moved on to Bristol Eastville Rovers, where he became part of their dropping “Eastville” and being admitted to the Southern League in 1899. After a season of which, he joined Swindon Town. Following their woeful 1900-01 season in that League, he retired.

He became a house-decorator in Barry, Wales and assisted Barry AFC in a variety of positions. Indeed he was so highly thought of that the Western Mail of January 1914 reported that “Trainer Brown of the Barry A.F.C. has been made the recipient of a handsome gold medal, suitably inscribed as a mark of his popularity amongst the players”. He also it appears acted as a part-time scout for Saints. One of his recommendations was someone called David “Tich” Evans who guested v Portsmouth, but Saints had not got permission from his parent club, Barry Town, and were subsequently fined £5.

He coached and managed Barry AFC for 17 years but later returned to Liverpool (where his family had moved to when he was a boy) to live and in the late 20s was the groundsman at Altrincham FC’s Moss Lane. He was still alive in 1939 and when the census was carried out was in Barry, possibly visiting his son.