William James Morgan (19 June 1922 – 11 October 1976) was a 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 le ...

who played in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

immediately after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Jimmy was a member of the Barton Hill Morgan footballing family arton Hill Footballing Family https://www.facebook.com/groups/1682150868706426/ Retrieved on 2016-12-30. which included his uncles Jerry Morgan (Bristol Rovers), Tom Morgan (

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

), Fred Morgan (Bristol City) and Jim Morgan (Wolverhampton Wanderers). Prior to his footballing career Morgan had served in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

during the war and took part in the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in 1944. Following the conclusion of hostilities Morgan was offered a contract with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

, but rejected the deal and opted instead to join his home town team Bristol Rovers. In seven years with ''The Pirates'' Morgan played in 104 League games and scored 24 goals, before joining

non-League Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

side Stonehouse in 1952.

Sources

References

1922 births 1975 deaths Footballers from Bristol English footballers Association football forwards English Football League players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Royal Marines personnel of World War II {{England-footy-forward-1920s-stub