Tom Brown occasionally played for Exeter City reserves in the 1920s and was later an assistant trainer with the club.

At first with the Royal Horse Artillery based at Topsham Barracks, he turned out for the reserves at right-half against Swindon Town in the Southern League on 16 February 1924. Harold Blackmore, a 15 year old from Silverton who was later to score for Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup final, also made his debut that day.

Soon moving into the assistant trainer role which he kept until at least 1933, Tom was pressed into service in something of an emergency to face Barry Town as a left back in October 1928, a game in which a young Cliff Bastin (of future Arsenal and England fame) played at centre-forward.