Born in Highworth, Wiltshire, Bown began his football career playing for the local Swindon Casuals team.
It was here that Swindon Town spotted him and offered him a trial, playing one first team match in February 1904.
Having not proved himself adequately he returned to his old team and his job as a turner and fitter in the Great Western Railway's Workshop.
He scored a goal in the 1912 FA Cup run that ultimately knocked Everton out of the competition, causing a minor upset at the time.
He guested for Southampton during the war (in which he served in the British Armed Forces)[2] and afterwards appeared for Bristol City and Weymouth.