‘The Forgotten Father Of Football’
Ebenezer Cobb Morley
The Forgotten Father Of Football
Humble Beginnings
Morley’s roots lie in Hull, he was born in 1831 on Princess Street and was the oldest child of four. His early life in Hull isn’t well known, but although he wasn’t educated at a public school, he qualified as a solicitor and he moved to London in the 1850’s. Ebenezer had a huge passion for football, still in it’s formative years, football was starting to take off as a sport, and Morley believed that the game should have a firm set of rules, as previous to this players were using one set of rules in one half and a different set the second half. He wrote to Bell’s Life, a weekly sporting paper that existed in the 19th century, thanks to his
letter there was a meeting at the Freemason’s Tavern on 26 October 1863. This is where football as we know it, was created, as this meeting led to the formation of the Football Association. It was at his home in Barnes, Surrey that he formed and created the rules for football. He was also elected as the first honourary secretary of the newly formed Football Association, a role he held from 1863 until 1866. He was then voted in as the second president of the Association, succeeding Arthur Pember in 1867 and left the role in 1874, being replaced by Francis Marindin. Such was his contribution to football that he even scored the first goal in a representative game.
The Forgotten Father Of Football
It was between London and Sheffield on 31 March 1866. However Morley’s life wasn’t solely devoted to football. He founded the Barnes and Mortlake Regatta, for which he was also secretary from 1862-1880. Morley was an oarsman in the 1864 Grand Challenge Cup, a rowing competition for men’s eights. He competed with the London Rowing Club, losing out to Kingston Rowing Club. While Morley is maybe best known for his footballing achievements, he also represented Barnes on the Surrey County Council from 1903-1919 and was Justice Of The Peace and Conservator at Barnes Common. Unfortunately anoher of Morley’s landmarks within the UK disappeared in the last couple of weeks. The Barnes townhouse which
carried a blue plaque in honour of Morley fell down under re-development. The townhouse, valued at £3.8m was close to the River Thames and fell down following basement re-development from the former owner of Phones4U David Kessler. Their plan was to enlarge the basement and make room for a cinema, gym and a wine room. An outer wall and two internal walls collapsed during the re-development. A disappointing conclusion to a once historic building in terms of football history. From Hull to London, Ebenezer Cobb Morley has transcended the north-south divide and has affected many lives, not just in this country, but the whole world over.
The Forgotten Father Of Football
Morley’s Modern Revival Ebenezer Cobb Morley may have died in 1924, but nearly 100 years on his legacy has become a penomenon in local social media. Some fans are keen to immortalise him and on Twitter the outpouring of support for him has been incredible. Here are a few of the finest tweets honouring the great man. Many agree with the assumption that Morley should be recognized as the ‘father’ of English football. While most are keen to point out Morley was born in Hull, and that a small city in Yorkshire has had more of an impact on football than most can beleive. Meanwhile some tweets were aimed at Hull City. Owner Assem Allam has tried twice to change the name of the club from Hull City A.F.C to Hull Tigers. However many fans point out that if it wasn’t for Morley, the A.F.C suffix wouldn’t be there.
The Forgotten Father Of Football
Immortalized In Stone
The name Ebenezer Cobb Morley isn’t familiar anywhere, not even in his hometown of Hull, but one man who has been keen to change that has been Oliver Harsley.
Oliver’s campaign was featured in the Hull Daily Mail as his camapign on Twitter really took off.
When we spoke to Oliver he said: “I started my campaign because I have The 16 year old has been campaigning always known about Ebenezer’s for more people to recognise Morley’s achievements and he gave me the contributions, and by starting up a Twitter sport which I have loved from being a account petitioning for a statue to be built samm boy so \i’m giving Ebenezer his in Morley’s honour, Oliver has at least celebrated legacy. given his name some weight within the city. “Hull needs to use the upcoming 2017 City of Culture as a platform to spread The account has proven a huge success, the message of Ebenezer Cobb Morley and while a statue isn’t currently a plan to the world. in the pipelines, there is now a plaque bearing his name to recognise his life. “I do beleive Ebenezer’s profile will be Celebrity backers of the campaign recognised more as the years go on as include Hull City goalscoring hero Dean more work will be done to secure events Windass, and the attempts to get his to celebrate his life.” name known to the public will continue.
The Forgotten Father Of Football
Morley’s Influences
Hull has a rich footballing hstory thanks to Ebenezer Cobb Morley. Both in League and Non-League football, the scene in Hull is thriving. With Hull City A.F.C recently being in the FA Cup final and the top tier of English football is a testament to Morley’s success.
Hull went from the old Division Three and had successive promotions in 2003-04 and 200405 from the fourth to the second tier of English football. It was here they would stay until Phil Brown led them to the play-offs in 2007-08 for a spot in the Premier League.
Since forming in 1904, Hull City have gone from strength to strength, languishing in the lower leagues for the best part of a century. Playing their home games at a mix of grounds, from The Boulevard to the Anlaby Road Cricket Ground. However their most famous home was Boothferry Park. From 1946 to 2002 The Tigers played here, and had some of their best years in the traditional football ground.
May 2008 saw the club appear at Wembley for the first time in their history, facing Bristol City for a seat at the most prestigious league in the world. It was 0-0 until the 40th minute, when up stepped local hero Dean Windass, who volleyed the ball home to secure Hull’s first season in the top tier.
In 2003 Hull City moved to the brand new KC Stadium (above), an all purpose 25,000 seater ground. Under the guidance of Peter Taylor Hull
The Tigers stayed in the Premier League until 2010, which saw them relegated back to the Championship. However since the appointment of ex-Manchester United defender Steve Bruce in June 2012.
The Forgotten Father Of Football
Bruce instilled his philosophy on the players and shortly after the club were winning games and contenders for promotion again. He secured this in his first season in charge when the club went up automatically in 2nd place. Two more years in the Premier League followed, with also an FA Cup final appearance against Arsenal in May 2014. The club went 2-0 up in the first ten minutes and almost pulled off an almighty upset, however Arsenal came back and won 3-2 after extra time. Theclub are now back in the Championship and as things stand are currently third and look a good bet for another term in the Premier League. Morley’s contributions mean millions can enjoy football in the city at a fantastic stadium.
Hull and the surrounding area is also home to non-league football sides, with the two most prominent being Hull United AFC and North Ferriby United. United were formed in 2014 and under owner Jamie Waltham created a sturdy non-league club. He hired former Hull CIty midfielders Curtis Woodhouse and Ian Ashbee to manage the side. Waltham left the club in 2015, with the club now playing at the KC Lightstream Stadium. They sit in the tenth tier of the English football system. Ferriby won the FA Trophy in 2015 against all the ddds as they defeated higher league Wrexham at Wembley on penalties.
Ebenezer Cobb Morley
1831-1924