Brown's goal-den moments

May 29 2003 Christopher Beesley, Ellesmere Port Pioneer

LONG before the words Gordon Brown became synonymous with Budgets an Ellesmere Port man of the same name was giving a good account of himself on the football field.

The town's very own Gordon Brown was a regular on several Football League club's teamsheets in the 1950s and 60s, scoring 133 goals on his way.

And he's been telling Pioneer sports editor Christopher Beesley about his colourful career.

GORDON Brown began his playing days with the old Ellesmere Port Town team as a 15-year-old.

But he was soon spotted by Stan Cullis' brother who was scouting for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Gordon, now 69, recalled: 'There was a big connection between Wolves and Ellesmere Port back then because a lot of people in the town had come up from the Black Country to get employment at the iron works.

'Going to Molineux was an amazing experience for me and as I was only a young lad, they put me up in digs with an old lady who looked after me.

'They had a great team at the time and the likes of Billy Wright and Stan Cullis, who was from the Port himself, were experienced internationals and household names, while I also got to know other great players like Smyth and Hancocks.'

Gordon's promising form was so impressive that he was called up to the England youth team and played alongside Vic Greaves, who went on to turn out for Arsenal.

He said: 'We went to the Junior World Cup at Nice in the south of France, which was really exciting for us back then as most of our players had never been abroad or played against foreign teams.'

Like most young men at the time, Gordon's career was temporarily put on hold as he spent two years on National Service in the Royal Air Force.

He said: 'After being demobbed I met a bloke called Dick White who was on £5 a week at Scunthorpe United whereas I was only on £3.50 at Wolves, so I told the club officials that I was off!'

While playing for the Lincolnshire club that later developed the likes of Kevin Keegan and Ray Clemence, Gordon switched from his initial position as a winger to become an inside forward.

He said: 'I scored so many goals while playing on the outside that they moved me to a more attacking role. I loved scoring and all I wanted to do was put that ball in the back of the net.'

Scunthorpe twice finished third in the old Division Three North during Gordon's spell, but with only the champion club getting promoted and no play-off system existing, he was unable to climb up the league ladder.

However, after moving to Derby County in 1957, he finally achieved top spot, booking a place in the Second Division in his first season with the club, and he eventually went on to score 20 goals in 54 appearances for the Rams.

Gordon said: 'I had a smashing time at the Baseball Ground and winning promotion was probably the biggest highlight of all.'

But while his fondest memories came while playing for the East Midlands outfit, Gordon then embarked on an unhappy spell at Southampton.

He said: 'It was a long way from home and I didn't really fit in down south, but after leaving The Dell I signed for Barrow, which was known as 'The Graveyard of Football' because so many players went there to wind down their careers.'

Gordon's own playing days as a professional ended following a training-ground incident while at Morecambe and he still bears the scars of the tackle that finished him off.

He said: 'We were having a practice match on the beach and I went in for a challenge, but my shin went right into the kneecap of one of my team-mates.'

Gordon now lives in Wolverham and has three children and five grandchildren, but his attempts to get his own son to turn professional were unsuccessful.

He said: 'I wanted to take him to Derby but he decided to stay here and raise a family. That was okay by me because I'm now a proud grandad and I just love kids.'

* If you know any other Ellesmere Port footballing greats from the past who you would like to see featured in the Pioneer, help us to track them down by calling sports editor Christopher Beesley on 0151 356 2494.