Keith Morton (11 August 1934 – 24 November 2021) was an English professional

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 scored 52 goals from 176 appearances 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, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in the 1950s and early 1960s. He played for Palace as an amateur, and was on the books of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

before spending the majority of his career with Darlington. He began his career as a

centre forward 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 ...

and finished as an

outside right 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 bei ...

Life and career

Morton was born in

Consett Consett is a town in the County Durham (district), County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of County Durham, Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. He began his football career as a teenage amateur with

, and scored three goals from five

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

appearances in the

1953–54 Football League The 1953– 54 season was the 55th completed season of The Football League, which ran from August 1953 until April 1954. Final league tables The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found aThe Rec.Sport.Soccer Stati ...

season. He returned to the north-east of England and spent a season with

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

, but never appeared for their first team. In May 1955, he signed for

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

club

, where he soon established himself as a first-team regular. In the fourth round of the

1957–58 FA Cup The 1957–58 FA Cup was the 77th staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the ''FA Cup''. Bolton Wanderers won the competition for the fourth time, beating Manchester Unit ...

, Ron Harbertson, Dave Carr and Morton scored at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

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. 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, 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 A benefit is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question. Howeve ...

with Darlington's appearance-record holder Ron Greener. Webpage includes image of a page from the match programme, readable content from which is also used as a source. After retirement, Morton sold second-hand cars in his native Consett. He died on 24 November 2021, at the age of 87.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Keith 1934 births 2021 deaths Footballers from Consett English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Crystal Palace F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players English Football League players