California dreamin' on the road to Roker Park

We'd mentioned him a couple of columns back, the chap who scored on his Sunderland debut - against Manchester United - but was returned after just six Football League games whence he came.

"The drink, probably," says his son Richard. "It was that which ruined him."

Archie was born in California, that intriguingly named hamlet next to Witton Park. His father also played local football, known thereabouts as Butcher Brown and not because he sold pork chops.

Apart from 13 Southern League games for Queens Park Rangers in 1925-26, Archie never strayed far from Witton Park's fulsome embrace but may have been the only man thereabouts to vote Conservative.

"He'd even put a Conservative election poster in the window, so my mother put a Labour one next to it," says Florrie Scales, his daughter. "I wouldn't care, but she voted Liberal. It was just to work him a bit."

Richard's in Escomb, across the fields, joined by Florrie for an hour's affectionate remembrance.

"I was on a train once and all the men were saying if Archie Brown couldn't kick the ball in the net, he'd kick the man in," says Florrie.

"I told them that was my father they were talking about. Oh, they said, lovely lad, Archie Brown."

Rough diamond, mind - smoked, drank, did everything he shouldn't except swear in front of his bairns and was known not only to deal summarily with those who did but perforce to discuss tactics with the polliss as a result.

Archie would also give away his last ha'penny - "the coat off his back," said Florrie - to any who needed it.

He'd scored a club record 61 goals in a North Eastern League season for Shildon, paid (they reckon) in threepenny bits from the gate and still threepence more than some of the Shildon lads get today.

"Every Saturday night, no matter where he'd been playing, he'd bring home a great big tin of Mary Ann toffees," recalls Florrie.

"At the end he played for Witton Park, where there was a little hut which sold sweets. All the players would buy me things from that."

Archie had served with the Marines during the first world war, those being the only available photographs. ("A terror for having his picture taken," said Florrie.)

He'd also won a 1929-30 Durham Senior Cup medal with Darlington and gave that away, too, though finally it was returned to Richard, who has another inscribed "Tudhoe O C, 1936."

Hardly Officer Cadets. Old Comrades, perhaps?

Sometimes, says Richard, his dad would be given a sustaining bottle of beer at half-time. In later life he knocked around with Tommy Blenkinsopp, another Witton Park lad who played centre half for Middlesbrough after the war and reckoned to have two or three sustainers - calmed the nerves - even before the match.

Tommy, now 80, still pops into Bishop on the bus for a drop of the same.

Big Archie Brown died in 1958. "When he became ill the doctor didn't even know he'd been on his books," says Richard.

"He'd stopped drinking; the doctor said it was stopping after all those years which probably killed him.

"He'd lived his life to the full, though. I think he'd have been happy with that."

Whitby Town manager Harry Dunn is related to Archie Brown, too, and on Saturday may have wished that the old predator were in his team.

The Seasiders, mid-table in the Unibond League premier division, lost 1-0 up the coast to Easington Colliery, second bottom of the Albany Northern first division - and on Easington chairman Tom Goodrum's 41st birthday.

Now they play Chester City at home - "it's never particularly warm at Easington but on that day I'm hoping for a hurricane," says Tom.

We'd remarked before that website operator teamtalk.com had got as far as Easington on their road to Cardiff, having begun a few miles north at Seaham.

On Saturday they were joined by the chap from Match of the Day magazine, whose own journey to Wales had begun at Trafford v Flixton (who in turn lost to Whitby.)

Doubtless it is true that all roads lead to Wembley - or Cardiff, or wherever - but normally as early as the third qualifying round.

Hartlepool postman John Dawson was at Easington, too, his 89th match of an already crowded season. What he didn't know was that the FA is surveying interested parties about abolishing the close season - presently the month of June. John, 284 matches last season, is aghast. "When am I going to sort out me programmes?" he says.

John Briggs, surfing the goal net, has found more Shildon connections in the Football League's deep past: Tom Bushby, born Shildon August 1914, two games for Southampton 1946-47, transferred to Cowes (Isle of Wight); Thomas Urwin, born in Haswell, signed for Sunderland from Shildon in 1914, won three England caps and also played for Newcastle; Ben Davies, signed from Shildon by Middlesbrough in 1911 and poor old William Worrall, born in Shildon in 1886 and signed by the Boro from South Bank.

"Debut v Liverpool, March 17 1906," it says. "Last game v Liverpool, March 17 1906."

We looked it up, Steve Bloomer's Boro debut, too. "Praise of the match is due to Worrall, who couldn't be blamed for any of the scores put against him," reported The Northern Echo. Others obviously disagreed: Liverpool 6 Middlesbrough 1.

Then there was Shildon lad Bryan Conlon (Backtrack, October 13), the former Darlington and Hartlepool centre forward whose funeral takes place today.

Bryan's goals notwithstanding, John Corner in Marske recalls a particularly spectacular Feethams miss. "I always stood near this old chap on the Polam Lane end who grumbled about everything.

"Bryan had shot way over from about 12 yards. After a few moments consideration, the old chap yelled after him: 'Conlon, you couldn't hit the floor with your hat'. I've never heard it before or since."

Ted Ilderton, Albany Northern League referees' secretary and former Football League linesman, was driving his son Eddie to a match at Burnley - Eddie is himself a League assistant ref - when a speed gun polliss emerged from a bush at Killinghall, near Harrogate.

Ted stopped, grovelled, was given a £40 fixed penalty ticket and three points for his licence.

A few minutes later, match referee Roy Pearson from Horden was on the same road and again attracted the attention of the men in fluorescent yellow jackets.

Roy waved, mouthed "Thanks for letting me know" and continued on his way.

Ted's impressed. "It's what's called speed of thought - the reason why Roy Pearson made the Football League middle and I stayed on the line."

THE last English manager to lead a side to a major English honour - Premiership, FA Cup or League Cup - was ex-Darlington boss Brian Little. Aston Villa won the League Cup in 1996.

Bill Moore asks which overseas pro in last summer's county cricket championship had played in most one-day internationals.

The answer three days from now

Mark Saxelby, whose first two matches for Durham produced big centuries, has died at the age of 31. It was an apparent suicide, a bottle of weed killer nearby.

Sax, as inevitably he was known, joined Durham from Nottinghamshire in 1994, hit 181 on his debut against Derbyshire at Chesterfield and 131 in the next game, Essex at Stockton. For the two years thereafter, he did sadly little.

"He was a naturally talented player with a good eye for the ball and a love of the quicker bowlers," said Geoff Cook, Durham's director of cricket.

"He could hardly have had a better start. All the team were scoring runs at the time."

Saxelby, an uncommonly self-contained individual, subsequently played minor counties cricket for Cheshire, qualified as a teacher, made a single appearance for Derbyshire last summer but declined a short contract.

A gloomy coincidence, Australian author David Frith is presently updating "By Their own Hand", his book on first-class cricketers who have committed suicide. The total now stands at 120.