Ernie Morgan
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ernest Morgan | ||
| Date of birth | 13 January 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Royston, England | ||
| Date of death | 3 October 2013 (aged 86) | ||
| Place of death | Rainham, Kent, England | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1943-? | Royston Youth Club | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| ?-1949 | Royston Colliery | ? | (?) |
| 1949-1953 | Lincoln City[1] | 3 | (0) |
| 1953-1957 | Gillingham[2] | 155 | (73) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1962-1966 | Chatham Town | ||
| 1966-1972 | Dartford | ||
| 1972-1973 | Maidstone United | ||
| 1973-1975 | Dartford | ||
| 1978-1980 | Tonbridge | ||
| 1982-1983 | Dartford | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Ernest "Ernie" Morgan (13 January 1927 – 3 October 2013) was an English professional Association football player and manager. He spent the bulk of his career with Gillingham, where he set a record for the highest number of goals scored in a single season which still stands.
Playing career
Born in Royston, Morgan worked as a miner from the age of 14 and played for his colliery football team, leading them to a Sheffield Senior Cup win shortly after World War II, the first time a works team had won the cup.[3]
Morgan initially turned down the chance to turn professional, despite being offered a contract by Barnsley, but eventually signed for Lincoln City, albeit on a part-time basis. He only managed three Football League appearances for the "Red Imps" and was allowed to move on to Gillingham in 1953 for a fee of £3,000.[3]
Finally turning fully professional with the Kent club, he scored 21 goals in his debut season and then topped this by scoring 31 in 1954–55, a new club record. This record was equalled by Brian Yeo during the 1970s but Morgan remains the joint holder of the record to this day.[4][5]
He was selected to play for the Third Division South team against the North in 1955/56.
Morgan's playing career came to an end due to injury in 1957.[3]
Managerial career
In 1962 Morgan was appointed manager of Chatham Town, having previously served as coach. He went on to manage a number of other Kent non-league clubs, with his greatest success coming at Dartford, whom he led to the Southern League championship and an appearance in the FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium.[3]
Morgan died, aged 86, in Rainham, Kent on 3 October 2013.[6]
References
- ↑ "LINCOLN CITY : 1946/47 - 1986/87 & 1988/89 - 2005/06". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "GILLINGHAM : 1950/51 - 2005/06". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- 1 2 3 4 Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 226. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
- ↑ Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 348. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
- ↑ "History of the Gills". Gillingham F.C. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- ↑ Tributes to Gillingham FC legend Ernie Morgan after death aged 86