Brown made his debut for the England Amateur XI on 5 March 1960 against West Germany, and made his last appearance in September, shortly before he turned professional.[10] He played in three Olympic qualifiers, and captained the Great Britain team in the Olympic tournament proper in Rome.[10] The British team failed to progress to the knockout stage and came eighth overall.[11]
On his return to England he signed as an amateur for Fourth Division Northampton Town. Although heavily linked with Newcastle United,[12] he turned professional with Northampton in October 1960, and finished the season as the club's top scorer as they were promoted to the Third Division.[13] By then, he had been switched from centre forward to centre half,[14] and was to flourish in that position.
In May and June 1961, Brown was a member of a Football Association touring team that visited Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United States.[15] In August, he was signed by First Division club Arsenal for £35,000,[16] and immediately became a first-team regular. Brown amassed 109 appearances for the Gunners in two-and-a-half seasons, scoring twice. At the time, Arsenal were the less successful of the two north London clubs, and Brown made a surprising move to their deadly rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, in February 1964, for a fee of £40,000.[17]
He became one of the few players to play for both clubs,[18] and coincidentally made his Tottenham debut – the day after signing – in the North London derby against Arsenal. Spurs won 3–1, and Brown came close to scoring. The move was particularly controversial as he displaced Bobby Smith at centre forward. The gamble did not pay off, and Brown was dropped after nine matches. The following season, he re-appeared at centre half, where he remained until Tottenham bought Mike England to replace him.[17] Brown made 62 League appearances for Tottenham.[1]
In September 1966 he was sold to Norwich City, where he spent two seasons[1] before finishing his career as player-manager of Bradford Park Avenue. He resigned as manager in October 1969 when a club director decided he would pick the team; Brown and 18 other players submitted transfer requests.[19][20] He was given a free transfer in November, and was promptly appointed player-manager of Altrincham.[21] Brown resigned in September 1970,[22] and later had spells as manager of King's Lynn, from November to the end of the season,[23] and Stockton.[17]
Brown later ran a pub in Shildon and worked as a milk tanker driver. In his mid-50s he suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered.[5] He died in Newton Aycliffe in 1998 at the age of 61.[1]
^ ab"England forget Laurie Brown". Daily Express. London. 10 March 1959. p. 14. Bishop Auckland centre half or centre forward Laurie Brown was yesterday left out of England's amateur team to meet Scotland at Dumfries next Saturday. And 20 Division One scouts smiled. For the longer 6ft. 2in. Brown is shelved by the selectors, the sooner he may turn professional. ... Only one thing stops him accepting an offer—the chance of an England amateur cap.
^"Players". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
^ abHunt, Brian (1989). Northern Goalfields. Official Centenary History of the Northern League 1889–1989. Skol Northern League Management Committee. pp. 228, 233. ISBN0-9514597-1-6.
^Tweddle, Frank (2000). The Definitive Darlington F.C. Nottingham: SoccerData. pp. 55, 100. ISBN978-1-899468-15-7.
^Jones, C.M. (26 January 1960). "The Browns are our stars". Daily Mirror. London. p. 20.
^Toye, Clive (27 September 1960). "Wolves warn Spurs with £100,000". Daily Express. London. p. 20. Brown, as I revealed yesterday, wants Northampton Town to cancel his amateur registration, play a couple of games for Newcastle as an amateur—and then sign professional. Said Brown last night: "I have never played for Northampton, nor have I any intention of playing for them. Mr. Bowen is wasting his time trying to keep me."
^"Club history". Northampton Town F.C. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
^Langley, Mike (13 April 1961). "Brown switch gives promotion boost". Daily Express. London. p. 20. Big Laurie Brown, 22-goal talk of the Fourth Division, practically clinched promotion for Northampton last night—as a defender. Brown ... was switched from inside right to centre half to patch up manager Dave Bowen's injury-riddled team. And in the frantic 64th minute of this muscular match, Brown kicked certain goals by Gillingham's centre forward Pat Terry and inside left Gordon Pulley off the line.
^Bell, Stephen; Zlotkowski, Andre (3 January 2008). "English FA XI 1961 World Tour". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 12 November 2017.
