Alan Lauder Morton (24 April 1893 – 12 December 1971) was a Scottish

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 lea ...

who played as an

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

for Queen's Park, Rangers and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Playing career

Club

Morton was born in the Jordanhill district of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. He grew up in Airdrie, where his family relocated due to his father's work. After leaving Airdrie Academy he had an unsuccessful trial with Airdrieonians. Consequently, he entered studies to become a

mining engineer Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...

while playing with Queen's Park, the famous amateur club. Once fully qualified in 1920 he turned professional, becoming Bill Struth's first signing as manager of Rangers, but only on the proviso that he could maintain his position as a mining engineer. Morton only measured 5 ft 4 inches in height but his talent lay in his physical balance, speed and thought. Rangers enjoyed a sustained period of success, winning the Scottish league championship in 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 and 1931. Highlights included the 1928 Scottish Cup Final win against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, which ended a 25‑year wait to win the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

d, played 470 times for the ''Gers'' and scored 109 goals.

International

Morton made his international debut for

on 26 February 1920 against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He would go on to play in every international against the ''Auld Enemy'',

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, from 1920 to 1932 bar the fixture at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in 1926, eventually winning 31 caps. It was in the 1928 full international in London where Morton, as part of an underrated Scottish side that beat England 5–1 in driving rain to record a famous triumph, earned the moniker: "

Wembley Wizards The Wembley Wizards is the nickname for the Scotland national football team that defeated England 5–1 at Wembley in the 1928 British Home Championship. Background Scotland had failed to win either of their previous matches in the 1928 Brit ...

". Three of Morton's crosses were converted by

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

's Alex Jackson. Ivan Sharpe, the ex‑player and writer, commented on the victory: ''"England were not merely beaten. They were bewildered – run to a standstill, made to appear utterly inferior by a team whose play was as cultured and beautiful as I ever expect to see."'' In addition he made 15 appearances (scoring 1 goal) for the Scottish League XI (making his debut on 22 February 1919 against 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, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

at St. Andrew's,

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after playing in three wartime fundraising matches) and four Scotland wartime appearances (a charity match and three

Victory International The term Victory International or Victory Internationals refers to two series of international association football, football matches played by the national football teams of England national football team, England, Scotland national football team ...

s).

Retirement

After retiring Morton became an important administrator within Scottish sport. He was appointed to the Rangers board of directors and he remained there until the year of his death. Further afield, he demonstrated an inclination toward Unionist politics in reaction to the rise in post-War

Scottish nationalism Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and Scottish national identity, national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottis ...

. He also owned a coal business in central Scotland. Today a portrait of Morton in his Scottish strip stands at the top of the marble staircase at Ibrox's Main Stand, such is his enduring stature at the club.

Personal life

His elder brother Bob Morton also played for Queen's Park, where the siblings were teammates for six seasons.

Honours

Scottish League: (9) * 1920–21, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31 Scottish Cup: (3) * 1927–28, 1929–30, 1931–32played in drawn Final in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

but not in Replay Glasgow Cup: (5) *1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1929–30, 1931–32

References

* *

External links

Rangers ''Hall of Fame'' profile
*
Scottish Football Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Alan 1893 births 1971 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Men's association football wingers Rangers F.C. players Queen's Park F.C. players Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scotland men's wartime international footballers Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees Scottish Football League players People educated at Airdrie Academy Scottish Football League representative players Place of death missing People from Jordanhill Footballers from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire