Dave Brown: League's Bradman

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

Dave Brown

Dave Brown has often been described as the "Bradman of League". Bradman was a run-scoring machine in cricket and Brown was a points-scoring freak in Rugby League.

Three of Brown's points-scoring records still stand today.

His three remaining records are 285 points on the 1933-34 Kangaroo Tour from 19 tries and 114 goals. His 38 tries scored in the 1935 season for Eastern Suburbs. And his 45 points scored in a club game in 1935. It's doubtful that those records will ever be broken.

South Sydney's Eric Simms and Parramatta's Mick Cronin broke several of Brown's records, but in Brown's era there were only eight teams in the Sydney competition and only 14 games a season in which he could tally up the points.

Born in the Sydney suburb of Hurstville in 1913, Dave Brown is one of Australian sports finest legends. When he died in 1974 tributes flooded in from sportsmen all over the world. No other man has ever made such a big impact on rugby league as Brown did with Eastern Suburbs and Australia in the 1930's.

It is little known that Brown played his rugby league under a serious handicap. As a child he lost the top of his right thumb while he was playing around with a lawnmower. Then at Waverley College he suffered a shocking arm injury playing football, badly damaging ligaments and nerves in his elbow. The injury cost him the use of two fingers on his right hand. Still he handled the ball perfectly in attack and his defence was first class.

Brown joined Eastern Suburbs in 1930 as a sixteen year old school-boy, but by the end of the 1931 season he had established himself as the number one centre in the game.

Brown was struck down with an illness late in 1931 and lost all of his hair. For the rest of his football career he wore headgear. Brown captained Easts at 18, NSW at 19 and at Australia at 22 (on the tour to NZ). He played 9 Tests for Australia including all 3 against England on the 1933-34 Kangaroo Tour.

It was in 1935 that Brown was really at his points-scoring greatest. He scored 45 points in a match against Canterbury which Easts won 87-7 in Canterbury's first season in the Sydney premiership.

At the end of the 1936 season Brown shocked Australian rugby league fans when he announced he was moving to Great Britain. He accepted a four-year contract to play for Lancashire club Warrington for a record fee of 1,000 pounds.

He was an immediate success in England and a favourite with the crowds. During his stint in England he kicked possibly the best goal of his career in a Cup semi-final against St Helens.

With the scores at 2-all in the dying moments Warrington were awarded a penalty near the touchline and five-yards on their own side of half-way. Dave Brown pleaded with the Warrington skipper to allow him to take the shot at goal. Brown steered the kick straight between the posts to give Warrington a 4-2 win and a spot in the Cup final.

He returned to Australia in 1939 and linked up again with Eastern Suburbs. He was appointed captain-coach of the Tri-Colours in 1940 and he immediately led the club to a premiership. Brown retired at the end of the 1941 season after Easts lost to St George in the Grand Final.

Until the introduction of the "Clive Churchill Medal" in 1986 for the best Grand Final player, the award was known as the "Dave Brown Medal". It's doubtful whether Eastern Suburbs or Australia will ever see another player quite like him.