Trevor Morris (6 September 1920 – 3 February 2003) was a Welsh 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 ...

and manager.

Playing career

The son of a miner from

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Morris began his career with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

. He made his debut on 6 May 1939 in a 0–0 draw with Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic on the final day of the 1938–39 season. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Morris' playing career came to an end when he suffered a broken leg while playing for Cardiff City as a guest in a wartime cup match against

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 ...

Second World War

During the Second World War, Morris served in RAF Bomber Command and piloted the lead aircraft in a squadron of 40 Avro Lancaster's on D-Day. He flew more than 40 missions over enemy territory and was awarded the

Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional va ...

in May 1945.

Managerial career

He returned to football in 1946 as Cardiff City's assistant secretary, and was promoted to manager-secretary in 1954 after the resignation of

Cyril Spiers Cyril Henry Spiers (4 April 1902 – 21 May 1967) was an English association football goalkeeper who played for Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He later went on to manage at Football League clubs for more than twenty ...

. Morris was unable to stop the club's relegation from the First Division and, after struggling the following year in Division Two, he resigned and instead took over at their South Wales rivals Swansea Town. He was sacked following Swansea's relegation to the Third Division in 1965. He later had a short spell as general manager of Newport County.

Later life

In 1971, he was appointed secretary of the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

, where he remained until 1982 when he stepped down due to a heart condition. In the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

, Morris was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to Welsh football. One of Morris's long-term achievements was the acceptance of the principle that footballers could play for a country with which they had blood ties but which was not the country of their birth. He died on 3 February 2003.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

*
Trevor Morris' profile at Pride of Anglia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Trevor 1920 births 2003 deaths Cardiff City F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. wartime guest players Welsh footballers Welsh football managers Cardiff City F.C. non-playing staff Cardiff City F.C. managers Swansea City A.F.C. managers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Association football wing halves