Harry Morris (11 April 1866 – June 1931) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who spent all his playing career with

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

(now Birmingham City). He became a successful businessman, joining the club's board of directors in 1903, and was instrumental in the club constructing and moving to the St Andrew's stadium.

Biography

Morris was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and attended

Council School. On leaving school he took up an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

in the

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water deliv ...

trade, which he combined with playing for Small Heath Alliance from 1883 at the age of 17 – the club was one of the first to turn professional, but that was not until 1885. As a youth he played as a centre forward, but gradually moved into midfield, developing into an influential

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and captain. Much of his playing career preceded the formation of the

Football Alliance The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92. History In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...

, of which Small Heath was a founding member, in 1889–90, so information is not readily available on how many games he played for the club, but he was a first-team regular by 1885, and played on long enough to make one appearance in the inaugural

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

in 1892-93. Over his career he saved £85 from his wages as a footballer, enough to take on the lease of a shop near the club's old Arthur Street ground, buy tools, and set up his own plumbing business. He made such a success of it that within ten years he was being invited to join the Small Heath board. By this time the ground at

Muntz Street Muntz Street is the popular name of a former association football stadium situated in the Small Heath district of Birmingham, England, taken from the street on which it stood. During its lifetime the ground was known as Coventry Road; the name "M ...

was becoming inadequate; a new stadium was needed, and Morris's business acumen again came to the fore. He identified an area of wet, sloping wasteland next to a railway as a potentially suitable site for a state-of-the-art football ground, convinced his fellow directors to back the idea, and served on the committee formed to organise the works. Within ten months of the land being acquired, the new ground, which would become known as St Andrew's, was opened. Morris's investments extended beyond football. When the first talking picture came out in 1928, he saw the potential and acquired an interest in several Midlands cinemas. He remained on the Birmingham board until 1929, when his son Harry junior took his place; another son, Len, also served as a director. Harry junior became chairman of the club in 1933, and after 38 years unbroken service to the club was appointed president in 1967, the year of his death. Morris died in June 1931 in Birmingham, not long after watching his club lose to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

in the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

. Forty-five years earlier, he had played against, and lost to, the same club in the FA Cup semi-final.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Harry 1866 births 1931 deaths Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Small Heath, Birmingham English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football wing halves Birmingham City F.C. players Football Alliance players English Football League players Birmingham City F.C. directors and chairmen English football chairmen and investors