Keith Morton

Keith Morton (11 August 1934 – 24 November 2021) was an English professional footballer who scored 52 goals from 176 appearances in the Football League for Crystal Palace and Darlington in the 1950s and early 1960s. He played for Palace as an amateur, and was on the books of Sunderland before spending the majority of his career with Darlington.[2] He began his career as a centre forward and finished as an outside right.[3]

This article is about the footballer. For the mathematician, see Keith William Morton.

Keith Morton
Personal information
Full name Keith Morton[1]
Date of birth (1934-08-11)11 August 1934[1]
Place of birth Consett, County Durham, England
Date of death 24 November 2021(2021-11-24) (aged 87)
Position(s) Forward, Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1953–1954 Crystal Palace 5 (3)
1954–1955 Sunderland 0 (0)
1955–1961 Darlington 171 (49)
Total 176 (52)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

Morton was born in Consett, County Durham.[1] He began his football career as a teenage amateur with Crystal Palace, and scored three goals from five Third Division South appearances in the 1953–54 Football League season.[1] He returned to the north-east of England and spent a season with First Division club Sunderland, but never appeared for their first team.[1][4] In May 1955, he signed for Third Division North club Darlington,[1] where he soon established himself as a first-team regular.

In the fourth round of the 1957–58 FA Cup, Ron Harbertson, Dave Carr and Morton scored at Stamford Bridge to give Darlington a three-goal lead over Chelsea, league champions only three years earlier, but they let the lead slip. Unfit for the replay because of injury, Morton's place went to Tommy Moran, who scored twice and created two more to inflict an embarrassing defeat on the First Division side.[5][6]

In a match against local rivals Hartlepools United at Christmas 1958, he was knocked unconscious and broke bones in his neck when opposing full-back Jack Cameron fell on him after a tackle. He underwent emergency surgery and was in an upper-body cast for four months. Although able to resume his career the next season,[7] he retired in 1961 aged just 26, having made two hundred senior appearances in all competitions, of which all but five were for Darlington. In March of that year, he shared a benefit match with Darlington's appearance-record holder Ron Greener.[3]

After retirement, Morton sold second-hand cars in his native Consett.[7] He died on 24 November 2021, at the age of 87.[8][9]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[10]
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Crystal Palace 1953–54 Third Division South5300—53
Sunderland 1954–55 First Division0000—00
Darlington 1955–56 Third Division North431430—4614
1956–57 Third Division North251423—2717
1957–58 Third Division North36641—407
1958–59 Fourth Division21431—245
1959–60 Fourth Division20221—223
1960–61 Fourth Division2796030369
Total 172492063019555
Career total 177522063020058

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1998). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–1998. Queen Anne Press. p. 391. ISBN 978-1-85291-585-8.
  2. "Keith Morton". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  3. Amos, Mike (10 April 2014). "Benefit of the doubt". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021. Webpage includes image of a page from the match programme, readable content from which is also used as a source.
  4. "Sunderland Players: M". TheStatCat. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  5. "Tricky Scots wide man Moran who brought Chelsea to their knees". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  6. Amos, Mike (29 January 2008). "The day Greener's Darlington made FA Cup clowns of Chelsea". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  7. "Wintry walk? Sno' worry alongside broken neck". The Northern Echo. Darlington. 23 January 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  8. Simpson, Ray (25 November 2021). "Keith Morton". Darlington F.C. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  9. "Morton, Keith". The Northern Echo. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  10. "Player search: Morton, K (Keith)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
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