[2] Brown was born in Sydney and attended Newington College (1947–1951)[3] from where he was selected to play rugby in the GPS 1st XV.
Post school he became a member of Randwick pack as hooker joining Nick Shehadie.
[2] At the age of twenty, Brown was selected to represent New South Wales against Queensland.
The following year he played in his first test match against South Africa.
He was known for his fiery personality and was on one occasion sent off during training by the Australian coach, Denis Cowper, a fellow Old Newingtonian.