EVERYONE, it seems, has a story to tell about Craig Brown. They all speak of a man with a kind heart and a generous spirit. Mr Brown was one of Scotland’s most successful international football managers, but in these anecdotes his success at the highest level of the world’s most popular sport were always secondary to his qualities as a human being.
Amongst my close friends and immediate family there aren’t many who’ve met high-profile characters from sport and entertainment. That number seemed to increase whenever Craig Brown’s name was mentioned.
I’ve lost count of those I’ve known who chanced upon him on a professional or personal basis. Rather than attempt to limit contact with the public, as (understandably) many celebrated people do, Brown seemed to relish opportunities to meet new people. There was never more than a week or two between stories about “that time I bumped into Craig Brown”.
Nor were any of these encounters fleeting. He liked to linger with people, eschewing that urge to look over your right shoulder in search of someone starrier. At today’s funeral service for Brown – held at Ayr Racecourse – his children’s reminiscences of their dad were teeming with tales bearing this human imprint.
READ MORE: Former Scotland manager Craig Brown dies aged 82
It seemed appropriate too that ordinary football fans, unable to attend his funeral in person, could connect with it via a livestream link.
We didn’t hear very much about Craig Brown’s football achievements, or of the sporting and political royalty he worked alongside. Rather, we heard about his qualities as a dad, all of them related via stories that twinkled in their telling.
His daughter, Val Sutherland, told us that her dad was always modest about his personal achievements. He was the last manager to lead Scotland to the World Cup finals and his counsel was sought by footballing savants across the planet. Yet, as Ms Sutherland said, “for the humble Craig, his favourite way of referring to himself was always as ‘the ex-Clyde manager’.”
His son, Hugh recalled his dad’s core values. “Up until the age of 12, I was going to play for Man United. Or, at least Ayr or Killie.
“But having seen one game, my pragmatic dad confirmed at the breakfast table that that wasn’t going to happen. And that I should stick in at school … and badminton and golf.
“I was absolutely shattered, and I’m not sure if I’ve yet recovered from it. But of course, as usual, he was correct. It was tough love. He was a man without a large portfolio of interests, but compulsive in three areas: education, behaviours and sport. He was a wonderful man, who loved people.”
Mr Brown’s other son, John said: “He was acutely aware of the time, commitment and money the fans had spent to follow Scotland and the other teams he was involved with. He was first and foremost a football fan.
“He firmly believed in the power of football and the wonderful, positive impact it can have in all of our lives.”
With the death of this man, we’ve lost another from that generation of football tribal elders who relied solely on their ability to lead and the collected wisdom of generations of their kin. Theirs were values beyond the reach of the super-rich global speculators currently stealing football from the people with whom Craig Brown liked to spend time.
Hugh Brown also gently dismantled the popular notion of his dad being some sort of cuddly, avuncular fellow with a heart of gold. “He was as tough as old boots and he hated signs of weakness,” said the son. “I’m sure former players and colleagues will confirm that minor injuries … well, they just weren’t acceptable.”
Some of the current generation of multi-millionaire impostors would probably have sought a restraining order on him. I can’t claim to have known Craig Brown, yet always felt that I did.
READ MORE: Craig Brown's random acts of kindness & the indelible mark left on me
This is rooted in my only encounter with him – in the mid-1990s – when he spoke at an initiative my then newspaper was promoting about protecting Scotland’s playing fields. Never having previously spoken in public, I was a tad nervous at the prospect and he sensed it. Just before the proceedings commenced, he took me aside and said: “You’ve earned the right to be here. Just speak from your heart.”
Later, I would discover that, prior to this event, he’d contacted one of our football writers to solicit some basic information about me. It wasn’t that he was being nosey or suspicious. He just wanted to have sufficient information that would allow him to discuss my job and interests beyond the usual “How you doing; lovely to meet you; see you later.”
It was his way of making me feel that this mattered to him. This was also an experience shared by others who’d ever met him.
This is the salute from his proud and loving daughter: “James Craig Brown: CBE, D.Arts, D.Uni, B.Ed (hons), BA. My dad. The best.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here