Johnny Morris (footballer)

For other persons named Johnny Morris, see Johnny Morris (disambiguation).

Johnny Morris
Personal information
Full name John Morris[1]
Date of birth (1923-09-27)27 September 1923
Place of birth Radcliffe, England
Date of death 6 April 2011(2011-04-06) (aged 87)[2]
Place of death Manchester, England
Position(s) Inside forward
Youth career
1939–1941 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1941–1949 Manchester United 83 (32)
1949–1952 Derby County 130 (44)
1952–1958 Leicester City 206 (33)
1958–1961 Corby Town ? (?)
1961–1962 Kettering Town 37 (14)
Total 456 (123)
International career
1949 England 3 (3)
Managerial career
1958–1961 Corby Town (player-manager)
1962–1964 Rugby Town
1964–1967 Great Harwood
1967–1969 Oswestry Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Morris (27 September 1923 – 6 April 2011)[2] was an English footballer who played as an inside forward in the Football League for Manchester United, Derby County and Leicester City.[3]

Morris was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire.[3] He started his career as a trainee with Manchester United in 1939, and turned professional in 1941. He guested for clubs including Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Wrexham,[4] and Everton during the Second World War,[5] and made his debut for Manchester United on 26 October 1946 in a 3–0 home win against Sunderland in the First Division. He helped the club win the 1948 FA Cup,[6] then, after scoring 35 goals from 93 appearances in all competitions, he was transferred to Derby County in March 1949 for a world record fee of £24,000.[4] After three seasons at Derby, he finished his League career with Leicester City, where he made more than 200 appearances, and then became player-manager of non-league club Corby Town.[3]

Morris was capped three times for England. He scored on his debut, on 18 May 1949 in a 4–1 win against Norway, and scored twice in his second game four days later against France.[7]

Later life and death

Morris continued to attend functions for the Former Players' Association of Derby County and also played golf regularly into his 80s. He died on 6 April 2011 in a Manchester Nursing home at the age of 87.[2] He was survived by his wife Marian and his two sons, and outlived his only daughter. His granddaughter Jenny still talks about him in Woolies club every Saturday.[8]

References

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Englandstats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c "Morris shone when Rams were a post-war power". this is Derbyshire. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Johnny Morris". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Johnny Morris". MUFCInfo. Mark Graham. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  5. ^ Rollin, Jack (2005). Soccer at War. Headline. p. 331. ISBN 978-0-7553-1431-7.
  6. ^ "FA Cup Final 1948". FA Cup Finals. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Johnny Morris". Englandstats.com. Retrieved 18 December 2009. Edit this at Wikidata
  8. ^ Glanville, Brian (18 April 2011). "Johnny Morris obituary". The Guardian.