Gordon Brown: A profile

Gordon Brown has died at the age of 53

BBC Sport Online looks back at the life of one of Scotland's sporting greats, Gordon Brown who has died from cancer.

Gordon Brown was born on 1 November 1947 in the Ayrshire town of Troon.

His father, Jock Brown, played in goal for Clyde, Dundee, Hibs and Kilmarnock and played for his country on six occasions.

Big brother Peter was already making his mark on the rugby pitch when Brown began to make a name for himself at West of Scotland.

A colossus of a man, Brown was never the best trainer in the squad and many believe he did not produce his best form on the club scene.

He must have done something right, however, because he earned a Scotland call-up aged 22 in December 1969 and went on to make 30 Test appearances for his country.

Former team-mates recall how Broonie rarely lost a line-out and refused to give an inch to any opposing forward.

Gordon Brown went on three Lions tours

It was, though, as a British Lion that Gordon Brown earned his status as a world-class lock forward.

He played in three Lions tours in the 1970s - the only British player to do so.

In 1971, having helped Scotland to victory over England at Twickenham, Brown travelled to New Zealand where the Lions beat the All Blacks in their own back yard.

That victory remains the only of its kind by a Lions side.

Even better was to come in 1974 when the Lions travelled to South Africa and returned undefeated in 24 games, including 4 Test matches against the Springboks.

Brown scored a record eight tries on that tour to confirm his place as a Lions legend.

Playing alongside other Lions legends such as Gareth Edwards and Willie John McBride, the illustrious company never fazed the confident Scot.

Brilliant raconteur

He returned to New Zealand with the Lions in 1977 and also starred for the Barbarians in a career full of high points.

Brown played his last Test match in August 1977 - his international career was curtailed by a 126-week ban by the Scottish Rugby Union for a sending-off in an inter-district game for Glasgow.

He pursued Allan Hardie, who Brown said deliberately assaulted him, and handed out some retribution of his own.

After that incident he never played for Scotland again.

'Broon frae Troon' was not only a player of the very highest quality, but also tremendous company.

Team-mates on the many tours he was a part of are unanimous in their verdict that Brown was one of the best storytellers around.

Brown seldom lost a line-out

It was, therefore, only natural that Brown's retiral from playing allowed him to make his name on the after-dinner circuit.

Brown proved to be every bit as successful in his new job as he was in his previous one, being invited to speak all over the world.

In January 2000, though, tragedy struck when he was diagnosed as suffering from cancer.

Although the tumours were successfully treated, more returned later that year.

He underwent further chemotherapy, more intensive than the first round of treatment, and he again seemed to have beaten the cancer.

But at the end of February of this year, it became clear that the cancer had returned and had reached an incurable stage.

It says much about the man that he refused to give up on life lightly, attending a gala dinner in his honour in London where not a dry eye was left in a house including such rugby greats as Willie John MacBride, JPR Williams, Cliff Morgan, Phil Bennett, Andy Ripley and Colin Meads.

That took a great deal out of him and he was too ill to return to Scotland immediately after the dinner.

He was admitted to a London hospital before eventually returning to Scotland where he died in an Ayr hospice on the morning of Monday 19 March.