He missed only one league match in six years and played in 179 consecutive matches during a wonderful period for Rangers and football in general as massive crowds flocked to enjoy it all in the post-war environment. Brown achieved 109 clean sheets during his 296 appearances – a statistic that reveals much about his abilities between the posts.
Brown was a key figure in Bill Struth’s side – one of the strongest in the legendary manager’s 34 years at Ibrox – but even he sometimes felt the full force of the boss’ wrath, for example, following a mistake in front of 131,975 people during the 1948 Scottish Cup final against Morton.
Brown recalled: "There was a tremendous gale blowing up and down Hampden, and it was emphasised clearly that not only had I to be in charge of the six-yard box but also ready for any high balls coming down within the 18-yard line.
"Morton kicked off and within 30 seconds their left half Whyte got the ball into the air towards my goal. I flew out to try to reach it but sadly misjudged it and it not only went over my head but it bounced once, twice, three times into an empty net. There was dead silence from the Rangers supporters, not to mention the players, as you can imagine, as I was lying on the turf.
"We managed to get to half-time with no further scoring. We were in the dressing room and suddenly, as I stood up to tie my laces, Mr Struth, who always carried a stick, hit me across the backside. I think I must have jumped about three feet in the air. He shouted at me, ‘Pay attention to your work.’
"We went out on the second half and I prayed that we would get an equaliser. Thankfully we did when, with about six or seven minutes to go, Torry Gillick scored.
“We had earned a replay and duly won it when Billy Williamson scored the only goal. I was very much a relieved man.”
Brown had been at Queen’s Park player before the war and had served in the Fleet Air Arm, a branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of aircraft, during the conflict, guesting for Portsmouth, Plymouth, Chester and Chelsea during those years.
Tall, blond and agile, Brown had actually played for Scotland against England before he joined Rangers in a wartime international at Villa Park. The Scots lost 3-2 but Bobby was judged to have played well.
He turned professional when he signed for Rangers in May 1946 but only as a part-time player. At other times he worked as a PE teacher at Denny High School in Falkirk.
He recalled those early years at Ibrox: "I came out of the services in 1946 and it gave me a great deal of pleasure to find that Rangers wanted me to sign. I was privileged to become part of the Iron Curtain defence which was legendary and I had the fortune to play in front of incredible crowds – sometimes as many 150,000 people.
"We had a great rivalry with Hibs at that time. We had fantastic games against them in the 1940s and 1950s. They had the Famous Five forward line and we had the Iron Curtain defence.
"Many said they would have loved to have seen the two combined in the Scotland team but it never quite happened that all of us played at once. We used to go to Easter Road and play in front of crowds in excess of 50,000 and that could be double when they came to Ibrox.
"Of course, we had brilliant forward players then too, like Waddell, Thornton and Duncanson as well as Jimmy Caskie. But there was something special about the Iron Curtain defence. We all seemed to click perfectly and we got on well together. It seemed natural to us."
Rangers and Hibs traded the title for seven years following the resumption of official competition after the war, with Rangers winning on four occasions and Hibs winning three crowns. Brown won three of these championships, playing in every game during 1948/49 when Rangers secured their first ever domestic treble. He also earned three Scottish Cup and two League Cup winner’s medals.
Following a 5-0 defeat at Tynecastle in the League Cup at the beginning of the 1952/53 season, Brown lost his place to new recruit George Niven who kept him out of for the rest of that season. Brown won the jersey back for most of the following season – Struth’s last as a manager – but Niven became No.1 thereafter and in May 1956 Brown was transferred to Falkirk for £2,200.
Within a year he had retired from playing and later became manager of St Johnstone, guiding them into the top division on two occasions and then keeping them there. In February 1967, he was appointed manager of Scotland. Incredibly, his first match in charge was against England in a European Championships qualifier at Wembley, a match that is remembered to this day.
The fact that Scotland beat England – then world champions – 3-2 on their own patch does not really tell the story of how the Scots, captained by John Greig, humiliated the old enemy with Jim Baxter as a protagonist in chief.
Brown, who sadly died in January 2020, had mixed fortunes as national team manager, winning nine games, drawing eight and losing eleven, but he was often hampered by withdrawals as clubs ‘encouraged’ their players to pull out of international squads.
He left the Scotland post in the summer of 1971 and moved into business but continued to have an involvement in football by scouting for Plymouth Argyle before his retirement.
Rangers Hall of Famer, former Scotland goalkeeper and manager Bobby Brown sadly passed away in 2020 at the age of 96.
