Michael John Morris (20 January 1943 – 15 March 2020) was an English

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 played as a forward. He spent time with

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, Grays Athletic,

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

(without making a first-team appearance), and Faversham Town, before he joined

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

in 1964. He helped the club to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1964–65, before he moved on to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in July 1967. He helped the "Valiants" to also win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1969–70, before he was moved on to Stafford Rangers in May 1972. After five years with Rangers he ended his career at Leek Town.

Career

Morris played for

( Isthmian League), Grays Athletic,

(without making a first-team appearance), and Faversham Town, before he joined

in June 1964. He helped Arthur Turner's "U's" to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in the 1964–65 campaign. United managed to establish themselves in the Third Division in 1965–66 and 1966–67. He scored 15 goals in 90 league games during his time at the Manor Ground. Morris signed with

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while sti ...

in July 1967, having cut short his honeymoon in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in order to join the club. He scored six goals in 31 appearances in the 1967–68 season and scored five goals in 38 games during the 1968–69 season. He then found himself as a utility player at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

under manager

Gordon Lee Gordon Lee may refer to: *Gordon Lee (comic store owner) (1958–2013), American comic book store owner charged with distributing obscene materials *Gordon Lee (congressman) (1859–1927), U.S. congressman from Georgia *Gordon Lee (footballer) (193 ...

, and missed just two of the "Valiants" 52 games in the 1969–70 Fourth Division promotion-winning campaign. He nevertheless had a fractured relationship with Lee. Morris was ever-present in the 1970–71 season, scoring eight goals in 48 appearances. He then scored three goals in 33 games in the 1971–72 campaign. The chant “We’ve got Micky, Micky Morris on the wing" was frequently sung on the terraces. He was given a free transfer in May 1972, after becoming disillusioned with Lee's defensive tactics. He then spent five years with nearby Northern Premier League side Stafford Rangers; he appeared for them at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

in the 1976 FA Trophy defeat to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. He later played for Leek Town and Jubilee W.M.C.

Personal life

After retiring as a player he settled in

North Staffordshire The federation of Stoke-on-Trent was the 1910 amalgamation of the six Staffordshire Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton into the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. An anomaly in the history ...

. He also ran the first ten Potteries marathons, as well as twice in the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

. In 2002, he underwent a double heart bypass operation. His wife, Avis, died in 2008. He was diagnosed with

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

in 2012 and died on 15 March 2020, leaving behind children Andrew and Laura.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Oxford United * Football League Fourth Division fourth-place promotion: 1964–65 Port Vale * Football League Fourth Division fourth-place promotion: 1969–70 Stafford Rangers * FA Trophy runner-up: 1976

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Mick Footballers from Plaistow, Newham English footballers Association football forwards Association football utility players Barking F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Faversham Town F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Leek Town F.C. players Isthmian League players English Football League players Northern Premier League players 1943 births 2020 deaths