John Morrissey (born 18 April 1940) is an English former

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 in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Everton and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

, and won the Football League Championship with Everton in both 1962–63 and 1969–70.

Club career

Morrissey was born in

, and began his football career as a junior with

, signing professional forms when he turned 17, and making his debut in September 1957. He played as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, and was unable to dislodge

Alan A'Court Alan A'Court (30 September 1934 – 14 December 2009) was an English footballer who mostly played for Liverpool. He gained five caps for England and represented the nation at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Playing career Born in Rainhill, Lancash ...

from that position in the first team. In 1962 he "crossed the park" to join Everton for a fee of £10,000, sold without manager Bill Shankly's knowledge. He scored on his Everton debut, in the first league

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...

in 11 seasons, which finished as a 2–2 draw, and went on to help the club to the First Division title in his first season. He scored the goal in the semi-final that took Everton to the

1968 FA Cup Final The 1968 FA Cup Final was the 87th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 18 May 1968 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between West Bromwich Albion and Everton. West Brom won 1–0 after extra time. Jeff Astle scored the winning goal, thus a ...

, and played on the losing side in that match. In the 1969–70 season he helped Everton win the First Division for a second time playing the full 90 minutes in 41 of the 42 games and contributing nine goals from the left-wing. In 10 years with Everton, Morrissey scored 50 goals from 314 games in all competitions. Despite his small stature Morrissey had a reputation as an uncompromising player,

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Greaves is regarded as one of England’s best ever players. He is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer ...

once commenting that he "always got the retaliation in first!"

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

, whilst recognising Morrissey's unflinching style, commented on him: "Well Johnny Morrissey, first of all, was a top-class player. He was a terrific player." He finished his career with a brief stay at

, which brought his total of League appearances over the 300 mark. His son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

had a successful career with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

making 470 League appearances for them between 1985 and 1999.

References

External links

League stats
at Neil Brown's site 1940 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English footballers Association football wingers Everton F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players FA Cup Final players {{england-footy-midfielder-1940s-stub