Biography
Centre half Anthony “Andy” Browell, the brother of City players George and Thomas, was born at Walbottle, a village atop Hadrian’s Wall to the west of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Forced to take work in a local coal mine at 12 years old when his father died in 1901, Andy made his name as a teenage footballer for Newburn, a Northern Alliance League side. He joined the Tigers (for whom his brother George was already playing) in December 1907, slotting straight into the Reserves side but it wasn’t until November 1908 that Andy made his first team debut, replacing Prescot-born stalwart William Robinson at centre half. Andy missed only two games during the rest of the season and scored his first City goal in a January 1909 win over Barnsley.
Browell was an ever-present in League and Cup games in the 1909/10 season, adding further goals in a September 1909 win over Grimsby Town and a December 1909 seven-goal demolition of Birmingham. In the 1910/11 season a knee injury suffered in early October 1910 kept Andy on the sidelines for three months, he returned to action in January 1911 but by April 1911 he was back on the fringes of the first team. Andy was fully restored to the first eleven in the 1911/12 season, missing only one game and scoring twice in a December 1911 win over Blackpool. At the end of February 1912 Browell’s form had attracted the attention of Division One side Everton, who had signed his younger brother Tommy two months earlier and were also interested in City striker Joe Smith.
Browell joined Everton in March 1912 but his time at Goodison Park was not a success in terms of first team action – his November 1912 debut for the Toffees against Manchester City proved to be his last Football League appearance. In September 1913 Andy joined Lancashire Combination side Heywood United, but a month later in October 1913 he returned to the North East and signed for North Eastern League side West Stanley. After World War One Andy remained at West Stanley and played a prominent role in the club’s FA Cup run in the 1919/20 season, which took them to the Second Round Proper and defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, having won through several qualifying rounds and beaten Southern League side Gillingham in the First Round.
Andy continued to serve West Stanley until the 1924 close season and also played occasionally for Hull City Reserves. He returned to West Hull when he hung up his boots, living in Selby Street and working in the engine rooms of coal fired Merchant Navy vessels. He later worked for East Yorkshire Motor Services before his retirement and died in Holderness in March 1964.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 17 September 1889, Walbottle
Hull City First Game: 21 November 1908, Birmingham City A (Division Two), 19 years, 65 days old
Hull City Final Game: 24 February 1912, Stockport County H (Division Two), 22 years, 160 days old
Clubs
Newburn, Hull City (1907-1912), Everton (1912-1913), Heywood United (1913), West Stanley (1913-1924)
Hull City Record
Career: 109 apps, 5 goals
Andy Browell| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907/08 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1908/09 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1909/10 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1910/11 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1911/12 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |