Ernest Morgan (13 January 1927 – 3 October 2013) was an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and

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. He spent the bulk of his career with Gillingham, where he set a record for the highest number of goals scored in a single season which still stands.

Playing career

Born in Royston, Morgan worked as a miner from the age of 14 and played for his colliery football team, leading them to a

Sheffield Senior Cup The Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup is a county cup competition involving teams within the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association. Originally named the Sheffield Challenge Cup, it is the 5th oldest surviving cup competition ...

win shortly after World War II, the first time a works team had won the cup. Morgan initially turned down the chance to turn professional, despite being offered a contract by

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, but eventually signed for Lincoln City, albeit on a part-time basis. He only managed three

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 ...

appearances for the "Red Imps" and was allowed to move on to Gillingham in 1953 for a fee of £3,000. Finally turning fully professional with the

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

club, he scored 21 goals in his debut season and then topped this by scoring 31 in 1954–55, a new club record. This record was equalled by Brian Yeo during the 1970s but Morgan remains the joint holder of the record to this day. He was selected to play for the Third Division South team against the North in 1955–56. Morgan's playing career came to an end due to injury in 1957.

Managerial career

In 1962 Morgan was appointed manager of Chatham Town, having previously served as coach. He went on to manage a number of other Kent

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clubs, with his greatest success coming at

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, whom he led to the Southern League championship and an appearance in the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. Morgan died, aged 86, in

Rainham, Kent Rainham ( ) is a town in the unitary authority area of Medway, in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Gillingham. History Historically, Rainham was a s ...

on 3 October 2013.Tributes to Gillingham FC legend Ernie Morgan after death aged 86
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Ernie 1927 births 2013 deaths English men's footballers English football managers Gillingham F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Men's association football forwards People from Royston, South Yorkshire Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley Footballers from South Yorkshire English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen