Biography
John Morrison, also called Jack, was born in Jarrow to a ship plater father and by fifteen years of age he too was working as a ship boiler maker in the local yards. He was playing local football in his early twenties and joined Northern Alliance side Jarrow FC in 1906. Within a few months he was scouted by and signed by Hull City in March 1908 as a goal scoring inside forward, though in his two seasons at Anlaby Road he showed great versatility and when he left in May 1910 he was regarded as a half back.
Morrison made his debut at half back in September 1908 and added two further starts before Northumberland man George Browell returned to fitness. His fourth and final game came in January 1909, starting at centre forward in faraway East London against Clapton Orient. John stayed with the Tigers until the 1910 close season but did not advance again beyond the Reserves side.
Morrison joined Southern League side Swindon Town in June 1910 and stayed one season at the County Ground, making 8 appearances and representing the club in a sprint challenge arranged between various football clubs – an early incarnation of the Rumbelows Sprint Challenge, Morrison’s performance proved to be as humdrum as Leigh Jenkinson’s eighty years later. In August 1911 John returned to the North East, making the unlikely switch from the Southern League to Division One side Sunderland, but in his two seasons with the Rokerites he didn’t progress beyond the A team and the Reserves.
In June 1913 he left Sunderland and was appointed player-manager of North Eastern League side Jarrow AFC, a post he held during the 1913/14 season. Now living back in Jarrow, Morrison returned to work in the shipyards and by 1939 was living in an agreeable new-build semi-detached house in the suburbs south of Jarrow. He died in Jarrow in March 1944.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 20 December 1885, Jarrow
Hull City First Game: 14 September 1908, Bolton Wanderers A (Division Two), 22 years, 269 days old
Hull City Final Game: 2 January 1909, Clapton Orient A (Division Two), 23 years, 13 days old
Clubs
Jarrow (1906-1908), Hull City (1908-1910), Swindon Town (1910-1911), Sunderland (1911-1913), Jarrow AFC (1913-1914)
Hull City Record
Career: 4 apps, 0 goals
John Morrison| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907/08 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1908/09 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1909/10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |