Career
Able to play at half-back or as a forward, he began his professional career with Burslem Portuguese Vale in February 1907. He transferred to Stoke later in the year, before finding himself at Tottenham Hotspur. Failing to make an impression in London, he returned to Portuguese Vale in 1909, and scored a club record 43 goals in the 1909-1910 season.
He again returned to Portuguese Vale in May 1913, before he saw action in World War I in 1917.
He retired from professional football in 1922, having featured in 209 competitive games for Portuguese Vale. Brough played for Smallthorne, before he joined Burslem Portuguese Vale as an amateur in the autumn of 1906, signing professional forms in February 1907.
This was his only goal in 12 appearances in the 1906-1907 season. The club then went into liquidation, and Brough transferred to Stoke.
He appeared in just the one game for the "Potters" in 1907-1908, and then went on to appear in one league and one cup game for Tottenham Hotspur in 1908.
Brough returned to Portuguese Vale in 1909 in a centre-forward capacity, and scored a club record of 43 league and cup goals in the 1909-1910 season, helping the club to the Staffordshire Junior Cup title in the process. He signed for Liverpool in August 1910, and played 11 First Division games in the 1910-1911 season. He moved on from playing reserve team football at Anfield, and signed with Second Division side Bristol City in January 1912.
He scored 11 goals in 22 league games for the "Robins" in 1911-1912.
A third move to Vale followed in May 1913. He bagged 35 goals in the 1913-1914 season, but was conscripted to fight in World War I in 1917.
He was demobilised in October 1919 and continued playing for the Vale, winning the Staffordshire Senior Cup and North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup titles in 1920. He scored six goals in 25 appearances in the 1919-1920 season, hit one goal in 33 appearances in 1920-1921, and then scored once in nine games in 1921-1922.
Brough then left The Old Recreation Ground after feeling that he was too "worn out" to continue to play professional football.
In all, he played a total of 209 matches (including 72 in the Football League) for Portuguese Vale, and scored 111 goals (including 6 in the Football League). With Portuguese Vale.