RONALD GILCHRIST BREBNER was ther Quaker goalkeeper who won gold in the Olympics but who died just a couple of years later of injuries sustained when he was making a save in a match.
Ron was born in Darlington, the son of a Blackwellgate gunsmith. His father, David, drowned crossing the ford in the Tees at Neasham when he was just two.
READ MORE: THE FIRST PERSON BORN IN THE DARLINGTON AREA TO WIN OLYMPIC GOLD
Ron went to Darlington Grammar School, where he learnt his love of football, and then to Edinburgh University, where he studied dentistry. But instead of filling in cavities, he took to filling in between the sticks, and went to London to play for the Caledonians. He also turned out for Sunderland and Chelsea, and was called up as England’s amateur goalkeeper.
Around 1910, nearing his 30th birthday, he returned to Darlington and started a dentistry practice in Bishops House, Coniscliffe Road. He turned out as an amateur for the professional Quakers, inspiring them to their greatest run in the FA Cup, beating First Division Sheffield United at Bramall Lane – he was chaired off the pitch by enthusiastic Quaker fans at the final whistle – and then Second Division Bradford Park Avenue at Feethams.
This led to his call-up for the Great Britain team at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm.
In the first round, GB were 7-0 winners over Hungary in the first round, and they beat Finland 4-0 in the second – it was so easy that Britain’s Walden “ostentatiously” skied a penalty because he thought the referee had made a bad decision.
The final two days later was played against Denmark in front of a crowd of 25,000, which included the King of Sweden, and Britain won 4-2.
The Darlington dentist arrived home with his gold medal, but rather than devote himself to the drill, he joined Second Division Leicester Fosse (now called Leicester City). However, on December 26, 1913, he was involved in a “violent collision” with a Lincoln City player named Barrell as they went for a high ball. He was unconscious for some time, which was par for the course for goalies back then so most newspaper reports of the day concentrated on his badly bruised ribs.
He'd broken two ribs.
"From the trouble that supervened, he never recovered," said The Northern Echo.
He underwent an operation in Newcastle, which was unsuccessful, and then went into the care of his brother who was a doctor in London. There, in Chiswick, he died on November 11, 1914, as a result of his injuries.
His body was brought back to Darlington, and he was buried in West Cemetery alongside his father.
READ NEXT: HOW JACK HATFIELD TOOK ON TARZAN IN THE 1924 OLYMPICS
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here