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Andrew Brown joined Saints around 1880
from local amateur club Westmarch, originally playing in the 3rd XI. During
season 1882-83 St.Mirren were having a bad run of form and the management
decided to turn to the young players for answers and Andrew Brown was one of the
players called up to the top team. He made his debut in a Paisley Charity Cup
match on the left wing. His performance earned him a regular place for the
rest of the season and he played his part in St.Mirren’s first ever
Renfrewshire Cup winning team when they beat Thornliebank. During 1884 he was selected to represent
Renfrewshire in an inter-county match against Nottinghamshire. These matches
were second only to internationals in those days so it was a high honour for a
player to be chosen to play. Although a winger initially, he was also
known to perform at centre forward with some success and is reputed to have
turned out a couple of times as goal keeper! He was soon appointed team captain and
he led the team with great enthusiasm and commitment. In 1890 he became the first Saints
player to win an international cap when he was picked alongside fellow Saint
James Dunlop to represent Scotland against Wales at Underwood Park, home of
rivals Abercorn. He won a second cap against Wales the
following year. To show his true versatility both of these caps saw him play as
centre half! He continued to perform well for Saints
and by the middle of the 1890’s he was involved with the Saints management
committee selecting the teams. He retired at the end of the decade having spent his entire career at Love Street.
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