Biography
Scottish left back Douglas “Doug” Morgan was born in Inverkeithing, a village on the Forth Estuary that in 1890 would have overlooked the newly-completed Forth Rail Bridge. He played for Inverkeithing United in his early twenties and was part of the squad that won the Scottish Junior Cup in 1913 at Partick Thistle’s ground, defeating an over-confident Dunipace Juniors side 1-0 – Doug was noted in the local press as “a stone wall in the back line” during the Final. This is when he came to the attention of Hull City’s scouts, with the club still heavily reliant on imports from other footballing hotbeds rather than able to lean on an indigneous production line of players.
Morgan joined the Tigers in May 1913 and was competing with Geordie defender John McQuillan for the left back berth, by October 1913 Doug had prevailed and was a regular choice in manager Harry Chapman’s side. When Fred Stringer took over the managerial reins for the 1914/15 season Morgan was initially used as both a left-sided forward and a full back, this versatility resulted in spells outside the first team as specialist players were preferred. In February 1915 he returned to the full back role and was ever-present for the remainder of the season.
The Football League was suspended in the 1915 close season in order that the country could focus on the War effort. Doug Morgan joined the 168th Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery as a Gunner, firing the shells from many miles distant that made life on the frontline such a terrifying experience. However on New Years Eve 1916 Morgan was himself involved in a shell explosion in West Flanders and died of his wounds.
Research for this website has shown that some ex-City players commonly thought to have died in World War 1 in fact recovered from thir wounds – Sam Lyon and Patrick Lavery, for instance. We have no such good news about Doug Morgan, who tragically was the only registered Hull City player to lose his life in action during World War One.
Details
Nationality: Scotland
Date/Place of Birth: 18 June 1890, Inverkeithing
Hull City First Game: 6 September 1913, Blackpool A (Division Two), 23 years, 80 days old
Hull City Final Game: 29 April 1915, Grimsby Town H (Division Two), 24 years, 315 days old
Clubs
Inverkeithing United (previously Inverkeithing Renton), Hull City (1913-1915)
Hull City Record
Career: 58 apps, 0 goals
Doug Morgan| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913/14 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1914/15 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |