190410 Grant Brown

Lincoln City's all-time record appearance holder, Grant Brown, has become the second inductee into the Hall of Fame at Sincil Bank.

'Hoof' Grant Brown, who arrived at the Bank from Leicester City in 1989, made 469 appearances in all competitions for the Imps, until his departure in 2002.

Grant, who was signed initially on loan by Colin Murphy, made his Imps debut in a League Cup tie at Wolverhampton Wanderers, before his fellow Hall of Fame inductee made the move permanent several months later for a then club record fee of £63,000.

Brown, who was a part of City's last promotion into the third tier in 1998, was awarded a testimonial in the 1999/00 season, where a Middlesbrough team including the likes of Juninho and Paul Ince visited Sincil Bank.

The central defender passed Tony Emery's all-time appearance record in 2000, before passing his Football League record in 2002.

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"It's an honour for me and my family," Brown said.

"When it was first mentioned to me, there was a great deal of pride for myself and my family.

"I never envisaged that I would be here as long as I was, the plan was to be here for a year to 18 months initially, but I just got more settled, and got on so well with managers, players, the board and the fans. It was just a good place to play my football."

Grant was awarded a testimonial in the 1999/00 season, where Bryan Robson brought a strong Middlesbrough side to Sincil Bank, sporting big names such as Juninho and Paul Ince.

"I'm still very grateful to Middlesbrough and Bryan Robson for bringing such a great team down, and all of the testimonial committee here that did a lot of work for me that night.

"The game was great against the likes of Gary Pallister and co, but it's another event I can look back on with great honour."

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The Sunderland-born defender surpassed Emery's club appearance record in a LDV Vans Trophy fixture against Morecambe at Sincil Bank in 2000, before passing his Football League record in March 2002 at York City.

"I remember the previous record appearance holder in Tony Emery, who was a wonderful man, presenting me with a plaque prior to an LDV Vans Trophy fixture against Morecambe where I broke the record.

"At the time the mindset was 'it's just another game' but now it's something I can look back on and think 'that was a special night' and with a great deal of pride."

Grant, who now works at FCV Academy in Stamford, was unveiled as the latest member of City's Hall of Fame in the Buildbase Legends Lounge on Saturday afternoon, before being introduced to the crowd ahead of kick-off when the Imps took on Cheltenham Town in SkyBet League Two.

A full interview with the Imps' record appearance holder will follow. 

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