Brown - also known as "Deacon" Brown - was the 1886 British Open winner who came to professional golf almost accidentally. A Scotland native, he was "a roofing slater by trade and keen golfer," according to the Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club Web site. "In 1886 he was working in Musselburgh when The Open Championship was about to be played. John Anderson, Secretary of the Musselburgh Club at the time, invited him to play and provided him with a pair of striped trousers, a frock coat and a lum hat to wear. ... (He) shocked the professionals by winning the event."

Donald Ross, later to become famous as one of the greats of golf course architecture, finished fifth. It was one of four Top 10 finishes in this tournament by Ross, and his best. (Ross' brother Alex placed ninth, and was the winner of the 1907 U.S. Open.)

Another interesting name at the 1904 U.S. Open was that of John Montgomery Ward. Ward was a famous baseball player in the late 1800s who played frequently, after retirement from baseball, in amateur golf championships. This was one two appearances Ward made in a U.S. Open (playing as an amateur), and he made the cut. Ward was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the 1960s.