Dave Brown

The deeds of Dave Brown, ‘the Bradman of League’ have stood the test of time. A product of Christian Brothers Waverley, Brown joined Easts as a 16-year-old schoolboy in 1930 and played first grade later that year. A dashing centre, Brown's loss of hair through illness in the summer of 1931-32 resulted in his wearing trademark headgear. He made his debut for NSW in 1931and was named State captain the following year at age 19! Selected to tour with the 1933-34 Kangaroos, he played in 32 matches (equal highest with the great Newcastle lock Wally Prigg) and scored a tour record 285 pts (19t, 114g), which may never be bettered. Brown was not a recognised goal-kicker before the tour but returned to Australia to post records that stood for decades. Brown played in three Tests against England in 1933-34 before becoming Australia’s youngest Test captain (22 years, 177 days) on the 1935 tour of NZ. That season proved to be a remarkable year for the champion centre. Brown scored 244 pts with Easts - a record that was not broken until Eric Simms in 1969 – and 385 pts in all matches. Brown's tally included 38 tries for the season and 45pts in one match (5t, 15g against C’bury) both of which remain records to this day! The following year, Brown became the youngest Test captain in an Anglo-Australian Test series (bettered by Reg Gasnier in1962). Brown also captained the champion Easts club to premiership titles in 1935-36 before being signed by English club Warrington at the end of 1936 on a lucrative contract. Brown cut short his four years in England to return to Easts at the end of 1939 and captain-coached the club to win the 1940 premiership. The following year, at age 28, he announced his retirement after the club's loss to St George in the 1941 grand final. Brown was the NSWRL’s School Liaison Officer in 1959 and was 'unofficial' coach of the South African team that played two Tests in Australia in 1963. He continued to work tirelessly for the code before his death from cancer in 1974. An interesting note: prior to the Clive Churchill Medal being struck in 1986, players in the grand final used to vie for the 'Dave Brown’ Medallion'.

Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the icon.

International
Test Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1933, 1935-36	9	7	26				-	73	3	6	0	33.33%
Overall	1933-1936	9	7	26				0	73	3	6	0	33.33%
International Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1933	1	1	9				-	21	1	0	0	100.00%
Dominion XIII	1937	1	-	-				-	-	1	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1933-1937	2	1	9				0	21	2	0	0	100.00%
Representative
Australia - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
NSW Firsts	1931-36	19	9	49				-	125	12	6	1	63.16%
NSW City Firsts	1931-32, 1934-36	5	1	6				-	15	5	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1931-1936	24	10	55				0	140	17	6	1	70.83%
Club Career
Australian League Matches - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Sydney	NSWRFL 1930	?	6	-				-	18
Sydney	NSWRFL 1931	?	7	21				-	63
Sydney	NSWRFL 1932	?	7	5				-	31
Sydney	NSWRFL 1933	?	6	4				-	26
Sydney	NSWRFL 1934	?	11	44				-	121
Sydney	NSWRFL 1935	?	38	62				-	238
Sydney	NSWRFL 1936	?	15	23				-	91
Sydney	NSWRFL 1939	?	1	7				-	17
Sydney	NSWRFL 1940	?	-	3				-	6
Sydney	NSWRFL 1941	?	2	22				-	50
Overall	1930-1941	?	93	191				0	661	?	?	?	?
Australian League Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Sydney	1930-36, 1939-41	?	93	191				-	661	?	?	?	?
Overall	1930-1941	?	93	191				0	661	?	?	?	?

Last modified: Sun, 12 May 2013 19:26:56 +1000 (Sydney time)