Alexander Morten
Encyclopedia
- This article is about Alexander Morten, the footballer. For the actor Alexander Morton, see hereAlexander MortonAlexander "Sandy" Morton is a Scottish actor.-Acting career:Morton trained in London at the Central School of Speech and Drama from 1965–68 and is well known for his roles in several leading drama series, such as Taggart, Second Sight, Between the Lines, Minder, and Casualty, movies such as...
.
Alexander Morten (some sources say "Alec Morten") (15 November 1831 – 24 February 1900) was an English footballer who captained the England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
team in its second official international, played against Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
on 8 March 1873.
Date of birth and personal life
Morten was born in PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
on 15 November 1831. He married Flora Hedger (1833–1900) at St Peter's Church, Petersham, on 17 March 1855. They had six children, although two died in infancy. Morten was a stockbroker on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
.
England football career
Morten was the first goalkeeper to captain the English international side and holds the twin distinctions of having been born at an earlier date than any other international footballer, and of being older than any other England player on his international debut. He was aged 41 years 113 days when he made his solitary England appearance on 8 March 1873. The oldest player to represent England was Stanley MatthewsStanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
, who was aged 42 years 103 days when he played his final match on 15 May 1957.
England won Morten's solitary international by a score of 4–2, but the goalkeeper was coming to the end of his career and never played for his country again. Despite having been born in London, and having no apparent Scottish connections, Morten had earlier represented Scotland in the March 1870 international against England. According to the match report in "The Sporting Gazette" of Saturday 12 March 1870, Morten "proved a most efficient goal-keeper".
The Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
secretary, Charles Alcock
C. W. Alcock
Charles William Alcock was an influential English sportsman and administrator. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of the FA Cup....
, wanted to field Morten as goalkeeper in the international match
Scotland v England (1872)
Scotland v England was the first ever official international football match to be played. It was contested by the national teams of Scotland and England. The match took place on 30 November 1872 at West of Scotland Cricket Club's ground at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Scotland...
against Scotland in 1872, but injury prevented this, with the result that England played the first international with Robert Barker
Robert Barker (footballer)
Robert Barker was an English footballer who played for England, first in goal and later as a forward, in the first international match against Scotland.-Career:...
in goal for the first half, being replaced by William Maynard at some point in the second half.
He was rated as perhaps the best goalkeeper in the world during the early 1870s; according to the Football Annual for 1873: "Toujours prêt is his motto when between the posts, in which position he is without a rival, never losing his head, even under the most trying circumstances."
Club football career
Morten played for the No Names ClubNo Names Club
N.N. Club or N.N. Kilburn, N.N. thought to mean No Name, was an English football club based in the Kilburn district of London. The club was one of the dozen founding sides of the Football Association on October 28, 1863, and were represented by club member Arthur Pember who was elected as the FA's...
of Kilburn from 1863 to 1866, before switching to Crystal Palace - a leading amateur side, and one that was in existence as early as 1861, though it has no connection to the current Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
club of the same name. His association with Crystal Palace continued for nine years.
Between 1865 and 1874, Morten also turned out for Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
, who, despite being amateurs, were the most celebrated team of the day. He made his first appearance for Wanderers on 16 December 1865 in a 3–1 victory at Reigate
Reigate
Reigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs, and in the London commuter belt. It is one of the main constituents of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead...
and went on to make 24 appearances, with his final appearance being in a 2–0 defeat by Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers A.F.C.
The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the "Sappers", of the British Army. In the 1870s it was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup Finalists in four of the first...
. His most prolific period was between 1869 and 1872, when he made 17 of his 24 appearances, although he was not part of the Wanderers side that won the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
in 1872, losing his place to Reginald de Courtenay Welch
Reginald de Courtenay Welch
Reginald Courtenay Welch was a key player in the early years of association football. He played for The Wanderers in the FA Cup Finals of 1872 and 1873, and also played for England in the first ever international match...
, who generally played as full-back.
Retiring as a player towards the end of 1874, Morten was replaced in the Wanderers goal by W.D.O. Greig.
Morten also represented Middlesex and served on the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
council in 1874–75, and occasionally appeared as an "umpire", the forerunner to today's referees.