Archives and Special Collections: John Brown (Athletics)

Collection: John Brown (Athletics)

Collection ref.: GB 559 JBA

Biography:

Sporting administrator. Team Manager for the Scottish athletics team at the 1986 Commonwealth Games; Administrative Officer for the Team GB athletics teams at the Olympic Games in Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996). A club athlete with Maryhill Harriers in the 1940s and 1950s John went on to become an official with the Scottish Amateur Athletic Association holding the posts of Assistant Secretary (1979-1982) and Treasurer (1982-1992). He was a technical official (Chief Wind Gauge observer) for the athletics events at the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games. In the 1970s he officiated at many athletic events in Scotland. In addition to his Olympic and Commonwealth roles John was an administrative officer for British and Scottish teams at many international athletics events throughout the 1980s and 1990s including European and World Championships. A detailed biography of John’s contribution to athletics is available on the Scottish Distance Running History website.

Contents:

Papers relating to John Brown's career as a sporting administrator including roles as administrative officer for the GB athletics teams at the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, and as Team Manager for the Scottish athletics team at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. Includes reports written by team managers and administrators; papers relating to team accommodation, athlete welfare, kit supply, transport; memorabilia relating to travel and attendance at international competitions.

The John Brown (Athletics) collection is fully catalogued. The catalogue is available on our online archives catalogue. 

Custodial history: The collection was deposited with the University Archives by John Mackay (Shettleston Harriers) in July 2025.

Accruals: Further additions are expected.

Access conditions: The collection can be consulted in our archives reading room. Please contact the University Archives in advance to make arrangements to consult the collection. Full details of our current service arrangements are available on our Using Archives and Special Collections page. 

Related collections: Other collections of sporting heritage held in the University of Stirling Archives include:

• Commonwealth Games Scotland, the administrative records of Team Scotland, documenting Scotland's participation in every Commonwealth Games since the first competition held in Hamilton, Canada, in 1930.
• Sir Peter Heatly (1924-2015), winner of gold medals for diving at three consecutive Commonwealth Games in the 1950s, Vice Chair of the 1970 Edinburgh Games and Chair of the Commonwealth Games Federation from 1982-1990
• Willie Carmichael (1905-1988) Manager of the Scottish Team at the 1938 Commonwealth Games, Chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland 1950-1955, Director of the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games
• Douglas Brown (1940-2016), Honorary Secretary of Commonwealth Games Scotland 1999-2011, and a major figure in Scottish Swimming
• Tales from the Ring, a project to collect and preserve Scotland's boxing heritage

Language: English

Additional information:

A detailed biography of John Brown's sporting career is available on the Scottish Distance Running Website.

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