Happy birthday onion

[BILLYHIBS]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN BROWNLIE

Happy Birthday to John Brownlie 69 today

Without doubt the best right back I have seen wearing the famous green and white

Who can forget his cavalier runs up the right wing leaving defenders trailing in his wake linking up the triumvirate of Alex Edwards and Pat Stanton on the right hand side of the famous Turnbull’s Tornadoes side of the 1970’s

My personal favourites being his performance away to Airdrieonians in the 6-2 game and his winning goal against Rangers in the 1-0 Semi Final win at Hampden

Playing over 300 games for the ‘Cabbage’ before leaving to join Newcastle United

At the height of his powers many consider him to have been the best right back in Scotland if not the whole of Europe

Many Happy Returns


:partyhibb


:cup:

[DIXIHIBS]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN BROWNLIE

Happy Birthday to John Brownlie 69 today

Without doubt the best right back I have seen wearing the famous green and white

Who can forget his cavalier runs up the right wing leaving defenders trailing in his wake linking up the triumvirate of Alex Edwards and Pat Stanton on the right hand side of the famous Turnbull’s Tornadoes side of the 1970’s

My personal favourites being his performance away to Airdrieonians in the 6-2 game and his winning goal against Rangers in the 1-0 Semi Final win at Hampden

Playing over 300 games for the ‘Cabbage’ before leaving to join Newcastle United

At the height of his powers many consider him to have been the best right back in Scotland if not the whole of Europe

Many Happy Returns


:partyhibb


:cup:
Echo all your thoughts. I was a regular at games during that period but still quite young so didnt appreciate how good he was. I remember when broke his leg v east fife and the adults around me were gutted and i didnt realise the importance of it. Great player.

[Tom Hart RIP]

No disrespect to Kieran Tierney but if he is worth £25m John would be worth double or even treble that.
An unbelievable talent. Pat Stanton once said that Fergie used to talk about how good John would have been had he not suffered a broken leg.
I always argue that he was better than Danny McGrain and Sandy Jardine, both of whom were excellent full backs.
A pal of mine who is a massive Rangers fan once told me that his dad was a big pal of John's and he used to join him and the Hibs players in the pub after games. My pal was about 12 when John asked him who his favourite players was. He replied Davie Cooper. John then asked if he would like to meet him. My pal replied 'yes' and John said, 'hang on' I've still got him in my back pocket.'
I've met John a few times and he is a gentleman.

[blackpoolhibs]

What a player, the best right back/winger i've ever seen. :top marks

[Forza Fred]

What a player, the best right back/winger i've ever seen. :top marks

He was a wing back before we had wing backs!

Agree the best right back I have seen in a Hibs jersey.

[vuefrom1875]

He was a wing back before we had wing backs!

Agree the best right back I have seen in a Hibs jersey.

Telepathic with "Micky Edwards.

[Roxyhibee]

Happy birthday John Brownlie.!

No exaggeration to say Onion was one of the best emerging talents in British football and heading for a huge club before his leg break. Strong, fast, intelligent, could waltz through opposing midfields either taking it wide or going inside and then deliver a great shot at goal. Genuinely unplayable on his day, can remember him particularly destroying the Huns many a time.

Simply one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen of any club.

[Valencia]

If my memory serves me right we were getting beat at Airdrie at half time (2-1??) and Brownlee and Edwards swapped positions and we ran riot in the second half

[BILLYHIBS]

If my memory serves me right we were getting beat at Airdrie at half time (2-1??) and Brownlee and Edwards swapped positions and we ran riot in the second half
0-2 at Half Time Two goals scored by Drew Busby one a penalty

Run riot second half with two from Onion three from Nijinsky and a penalty from Jimmy O’Rourke

We also beat them 5-2 in the League at Easter Road on the Saturday and won the return leg 4-1

Those were the days

Pretty sure John Brownlie had been a ballboy at Broomfield

All the goals on the Turnbull’s Tornadoes DVD

[superfurryhibby]

Fantastic player from my boyhood and rightly revered as one of our all time greats. Signed from Edina Hibs? There’s a great photo of him and Cropley as young laddies in the same team, must be from c1967-68.

[Mick O'Rourke]

.
What a player, the best right back/winger i've ever seen. :top marks
Agree with that.
He was in good company and competition with McGrain and Jardine.
Had the leg break not set him back on near a year, i think John would have been first pick for Scotland for some time to come,even allowing for the Glasgow 2 bias in selection in those days.

Jimmy O' once told me that John got his nickname cos he hated onions.

But the most likely story is that from Billy Simpson, on seeing the mess a barber made of Johns head thought his napper looked like an onion
So there you go.

Somebody said after the Tornadoes split........

" The day John Brownlie broke his leg ,was the day the music died!"



HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONION:aok:


I just turned 69 masel 5 weeks ago:agree:

[ancient hibee]

I first really noticed him at Muirton when Chris Shevlane was injured and John subbed him. Chris was in the middle of a good spell and there were a few of us worried until John started blasting up and down the wing.Pretty sure he laid on a couple of goals for Joe McBride. He was a more complete player than McGrain and Jardine.Neither of them had his eye for a goal despite being good attacking players.

[hibbie02]

Totally agree with you. I was privileged to also see him play at Newcastle many times as well. Probably past his best by then but class is permanent and he had class.

[Lago]

What a player, the best right back/winger i've ever seen. :top marks
That's the truth

[green.oracle]

0-2 at Half Time Two goals scored by Drew Busby one a penalty

Run riot second half with two from Onion three from Nijinsky and a penalty from Jimmy O’Rourke

We also beat them 5-2 in the League at Easter Road on the Saturday and won the return leg 4-1

Those were the days

Pretty sure John Brownlie had been a ballboy at Broomfield

All the goals on the Turnbull’s Tornadoes DVD

Billy, bit in bold, my recollection is it was 1-0 airdrie at half time. Jimmy O'Rourke equalized with a penalty early second half, only for busby to score from the spot a minute later. Then Hibs and Brownlie in particular, ran riot.

I knew someone who worked beside airdrie player Walker (can't remember christian name). He said he was marking Stanton the first half and played him out the game. Turnbull changed it at half time by moving Stanton to right back, Edwards to middle midfield and Brownlie in Edwards position.
Walker said the airdrie players couldn't cope with the changes and were swept aside by the changes.

Them were the days.......................

I can only agree that John Brownlie was the best right back I've seen. Brownlie was capped before Jardine and McGrain and would have broke all cap records if it hadn't been for his leg break (IMHO).

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[BILLYHIBS]

Billy, bit in bold, my recollection is it was 1-0 airdrie at half time. Jimmy O'Rourke equalized with a penalty early second half, only for busby to score from the spot a minute later. Then Hibs and Brownlie in particular, ran riot.

I knew someone who worked beside airdrie player Walker (can't remember christian name). He said he was marking Stanton the first half and played him out the game. Turnbull changed it at half time by moving Stanton to right back, Edwards to middle midfield and Brownlie in Edwards position.
Walker said the airdrie players couldn't cope with the changes and were swept aside by the changes.

Them were the days.......................

I can only agree that John Brownlie was the best right back I've seen. Brownlie was capped before Jardine and McGrain and would have broke all cap records if it hadn't been for his leg break (IMHO).

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

All the HIBS goals defo scored in the second half re the video John Campbell’s book and this article which states we were two behind at the interval

My own recollection concurs with yours my memory is that Busby twice gave Airdrie the lead so 1-2 down second half 0-1 half time

http://www.hibshistoricaltrust.org.uk/historic-matches/the-1972-league-cup-final

[Iggy Pope]

Met him in a pub in Morpeth mid 80s. Me and Mrs Pope were still courting and she refused to take a photo although he did sign a beermat. Lovely fellah, a hero and a bona file legend. Happy Birthday John.

[BSEJVT]

As someone else said comfortably the best right back we have had in my time but you could als say that about:


Schaedler
Stanton
Blackley
Edwards
O’Rourke
Gordon
Cropley
Duncan

With IMO a minimum of 4 or 5 of those not even being up for debate

I was there when he broke his leg and that and Mickey’s suspension were the beginning of the end of an era.

I never felt he was as good after returning from that leg break which was a personal club and national tragedy as IMO a pre leg break Brownlie was streets ahead of Mcgrain & Jardine fine players though they were.

Regardless he was still a great player and servant for Hibs, Happy Birthday onion

[CB Hibs 68]

Still remember well the day he broke his leg against East Fife. No question he was the best right back in Scotland at the time and as good as Danny McGrain was if John hadn't broke his leg he would have been regarded best Scottish full back ever. Irony of ironies though his replacement for the next game was a certain Des Bremner who was also a class player but even he couldn't lace John's books as a full back.Happy Birthday Onion.

[cabbageandribs1875]

i based my game on John Brownlie when playing subbuteo...and attempting to play for real :greengrin i'l never forget that length of pitch run at Hampden towards the "sellick" end, against ran gers i think ? :hmmm: can't remember much more though, might have been sellick even



best right back in Britain before his leg break, which i heard the crack for myself standing in the old south enclosure(under the old main stand)... v East Fife, the EF player being a relation of a poster on here iirc.



happy birthday onion

[Crab apple]

My first Hibs top had the number 2 ironed on in homage to him.

[Greenbeard]

On side with all the much deserved praise but I can't help wonder how he would have fared in today's game whereby players "are entitled to go down" when you brush against them. Would probably have collected a good few yellows and reds!

[Tom Hart RIP]

Still remember well the day he broke his leg against East Fife. No question he was the best right back in Scotland at the time and as good as Danny McGrain was if John hadn't broke his leg he would have been regarded best Scottish full back ever. Irony of ironies though his replacement for the next game was a certain Des Bremner who was also a class player but even he couldn't lace John's books as a full back.Happy Birthday Onion.


A few weeks later Eddie Turnbull tried young Tom Stevens at right back against Motherwell (I think) and we lost at Easter Road. Tom was a teenager but was completely bald. He did OK but I can't remember him ever playing for us again. I bumped into him years later professionally and I think he was surprised when I remembered him from his Hibs days.

[BILLYHIBS]

On side with all the much deserved praise but I can't help wonder how he would have fared in today's game whereby players "are entitled to go down" when you brush against them. Would probably have collected a good few yellows and reds!
Dunno I don’t remember John Brownlie as being an overly physical player clean and fair in the challenge now Erich Schaedler now we are talking reds and yellows in the modern game :greengrin

[green.oracle]

All the HIBS goals defo scored in the second half re the video John Campbell’s book and this article which states we were two behind at the interval

My own recollection concurs with yours my memory is that Busby twice gave Airdrie the lead so 1-2 down second half 0-1 half time

http://www.hibshistoricaltrust.org.uk/historic-matches/the-1972-league-cup-final

Yeah, historical trust not always correct. This is one of these occasions.

GGTTH

[A Hi-Bee]

Been watching Hibs for a long time now and would always say that John Brownlie was the finest Right Back in Britain before his terrible leg break, who knows what he may have achieved but for the broken leg, fantastic player way ahead of his time, just to also say that one of his predecessors was no a bad Right Back and he suffered a bad leg break and was never quite the same player he was Bobby Duncan.

[BILLYHIBS]

Been watching Hibs for a long time now and would always say that John Brownlee was the finest Right Back in Britain before his terrible leg break, who knows what he may have achieved but for the broken leg, fantastic player way ahead of his time, just to also say that one of his predecessors was no a bad Right Back and he suffered a bad leg break and was never quite the same player he was Bobby Duncan.
:agree:

At King Paddy’s do at the Usher Hall every time he mentioned his goal against Naples it was getting further and further out :greengrin

[Mick O'Rourke]

Billy mentioned earlier that he thought John was a ballboy at Broomfield ,home of Airdrieonians.He may well have been.
In an interview John stated his dad disliked the whole Old Firm thing and took John to see Airdrie.
Airdrie and Coatbridge of course being full of Celtic and Rangers fans.

Prior to John joining ,Hibs had some outstanding full backs during the sixties.
.This selection ,imo ,would walk in to the current Hibs team and possibly the Glasgow teams as well.
Joe Davis, John Parke, Bobby Duncan, Billy Simpson,Chris Shevlane.
Bobby and Chris also suffered leg breaks playing the game.
Chris twice,if i recall correctly .
Bobby's leg break was a result of a vicious tackle by Celtic winger John Hughes in a game at E.R.

[Joe6-2]

One of my worst recollections from ER when John broke his leg.
Hope you had a great birthday JB!