After a spell at Alloa Athletic where he played alongside elder brother William and both also worked in the local mines, Brown joined Falkirk in 1908.
[1] While his brother was killed in a mine shaft collapse in 1909, John escaped life in the pits, his career continued to progress and he signed for Celtic in 1911.
[2][3] His time in Glasgow started well, and after displacing veteran Davie Hamilton in the side, he was selected for the Scottish Football League XI for a game against The Football League XI,[4] followed two months later by a Scottish Cup win,[2] Clyde being defeated in the 1912 final.
[5] He began to be overshadowed by John Browning at Celtic and was loaned to English side Chelsea in December 1912, the switch being made permanent two months later.
[2] However, after making 11 Football League appearances for the Blues (scoring three goals) in his first half-season in West London,[6] Brown was a backup to Billy Bridgeman, then fellow Scot Bob McNeil, and played only five more matches at that level in the next two years – instead he was a regular in the reserves, with 51 games (seven goals) in two seasons.