A very happy birthday on this his 90th birthday. to the great Kenny Brown.
Happy 90th birthday to the great Kenny Brown
Ken was a fabulous centre half – as they were called back then – alongside the likes of Mooro who joined him on his debut for the club at 17 years old , John Bond, Martin Peters and so many other of our greats.
He was part of the team that won the 1958 Second Division championship, the 1964/65 FA Cup and 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup. He made an amazing 474 appearances in Claret and Blue at a time when appearances meant starts!
A tough centre-half on the field and a true gentleman off it, Brown mentored dozens of future first-team stars through the Academy of Football .
He received a Testimonial match in May 1967, when he captained a Select XI including the late Gordon Banks and his fellow 1964 FA Cup winners John Bond and Johnny Byrne against a West Ham side captained by his friend and teammate Moore.
In May 2018, he received the Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award, emulating teammates Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters and continuing a relationship with the Hammers dating back seven decades.
He says: “I was brought up at West Ham and had the best years of my life at the Club,” said Brown. “I used to come into the Boleyn Ground in the early days with a fella called Dick Walker who taught me how to approach football and I have never forgotten that.
“There have been lots of other people at the Club who have all made me feel welcome and always wanted me to do well.
“I didn’t expect to be named Hammer of the Year but when I look back now it is something that I fully appreciate. No matter what anyone says no-one will ever take my memories away from this place.
Born in Forest Gate, Brown played for Dagenham-based Neville United before he was given his big chance by West Ham in 1951, when he signed for the Irons at the age of 17.