John Brown - Player Profile
| Full Name: | John Christopher Brown |
| Born: | 30/12/1947 |
| Died: | 16/05/2024 (age 76) |
| Place of Birth: | Bradford |
| Nationality: | England |
| Position: | Goal |
| Signed: | 01/06/1976 |
| Left: | 01/06/1982 |
John arrived at Springfield Park at the start of Latics’ next to last season in the Northern Premier League (1976/77) from Stockport County and made 69 NPL appearances for the club before turning full time for the Blues’ first season in the Football League. He made his Latics League debut on 19th August 1978 in Latics’ historic first Football League game against Hereford United at Edgar Street which ended in a 0-0 draw. So, John goes down as the first ever Latics Football league goalkeeper and the first one to keep a clean sheet! He played a total of 93 League games and left Springfield Park at the end of season 1981/82 following an injury that finished his career.
On Tuesday 11th May 1982 John was given a testimonial game by Latics. The visitors to Springfield Park on the day were Bolton Wanderers and an appreciative crowd of just over 2,000 saw Latics run out 1-0 winners thanks to a Mark Wignall goal.
He was voted Player of the Year at the end of season 1979/80. The second player to be handed the prize who had also played non league football for the club. His full Latics career consisted of 162 (0) appearamces encompassing the Northern Premier League ad Football League Division Four.
Wigan Athletic Career
| League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 1981-1982 | 6 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 8 (0) | 0 | |
| 1980-1981 | 9 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 15 (0) | 0 | |
| 1979-1980 | 36 (0) | 0 | 6 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 42 (0) | 0 | |
| 1978-1979 | 42 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 47 (0) | 0 | |
| 1977-1978 | 40 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 40 (0) | 0 | |
| 1976-1977 | 29 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 29 (0) | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 162 (0) | 0 | 10 (0) | 0 | 9 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 181 (0) | 0 | |
