Thomas Kelly Morrison (21 January 1904 – 1973) was a Scottish footballer who played as a right half for St Mirren, Liverpool and Sunderland, and for the Scotland national team.
Club career Morrison was born in Coylton, Ayrshire. He played for Troon Athletic and St Mirren. During his time in Paisley he was almost ever-present and won the Scottish Cup in 1926.St Mirren's Victory | Celtic Lose Scottish Cup at Hampden, The Glasgow Herald, 12 April 1926
He was signed by Liverpool manager Matt McQueen in February 1928 for £4000Tom Morrison transferred to Liverpool, Evening Telegraph, 9 February 1928, via Play Up Liverpool and made his debut on 11 February 1928 at Fratton Park in a Football League First Division match against Portsmouth, which ended with Portsmouth beating the Reds 1–0. His first goal came almost two years later on 13 December 1930 when he scored a first-minute goal at Highbury in a 1–1 draw with Arsenal. He was quoted in a 1929 newspaper article explaining in some detail his philosophy on the role of half-backs in football,Half-backs and the attack, Inverness Courier, 8 November 1929, via Play Up Liverpool and in a 1931 article he praised the captaincy qualities of Anfield teammate James Jackson – by this time Morrison was Jackson's deputy in the role.Captaincy – and what it involves by Tom Morrison, Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 10 January 1931, via Play Up Liverpool As at St Mirren, he was a near-constant presence in the Liverpool team between his arrival and summer 1934.Tom Morrison, LFChistory.net
However, the good discipline Morrison had displayed then waned dramatically; the club suspended him for unspecified reasons in August 1934Tom Morrison suspended for breach of discipline, Daily Worker, 23 August 1934, via Play Up Liverpool and his return to the team was then curtailed by appendicitis which required an immediate operation in November of that year,Tom Morrison operated for appendicitis, Sunderland Daily Echo, 13 November 1934, via Play Up Liverpool with Ted Savage taking over the position. Morrison then disappeared altogether in February 1935, failing to report for a reserve team match which led the club to issue repeated suspensions in his absence.Morrison gone AWOL, Hull Daily Mail, 13 March 1935, via Play Up LiverpoolMorrison update, Villagers: 750 Years Of Life In An English Village He eventually returned, but did not play another first team match for Liverpool.Morrison Tom Image 1 Liverpool 1928 Vintage Footballers
He moved to Sunderland in November 1935, and the Black Cats went on to capture the English league title in 1936 with Morrison contributing 21 appearances.Tom Morrison, TheStatCat At the end of the season he vanished once again, leaving his wife and child behind in Sunderland with no source of income. It transpired that he had been working as a fruit picker in Cambridgeshire and playing for Gamlingay United in the local amateur league under the pseudonym of 'Jack Anderson'.An internationalist in Cambridgeshire…, Cambridge Independent Press, 11 December 1936, via Play Up LiverpoolHampden Park To Green End, Villagers: 750 Years Of Life In An English Village He was arrested in December 1936 and appeared in court in Sunderland accused of leaving his wife and child chargeable to the public assistance committee, with the judge agreeing to dismiss the case when the relief funds paid to Mrs Morrison were refunded along with costs.Tom Morrison charged for leaving wife and child, Dundee Courier, 7 December 1936, via Play Up Liverpool
Morrison went on to sign for Ayr United in summer 1937, but before playing a match for them he was charged with housebreaking, having broken into an unoccupied Ayrshire cottage following a bout of drinking with friends, living there for some time and eventually selling off the contents.Ex-Liverpool player broke into house, Dundee Courier, 14 August 1937, via Play Up Liverpool His registration was cancelled by Ayr UnitedAyr United cancel Morrisons's registration, Dundee Courier, 19 August 1937, via Play Up Liverpool and he moved to Ireland to play for Drumcondra, where his career was ended in March 1939 by a badly broken legFractured leg for Tom Morrison, Falkirk Herald, 15 March 1939, via Play Up Liverpool for which he received a compensation payment at court some months later.Tom Morrison compensated for football injury, Falkirk Herald, 5 August 1939, via Play Up Liverpool He worked as a coach in Ireland, and continued this back in England after World War II also working at the Greene King brewery in Biggleswade.
International career Morrison gained one cap for Scotland whilst he was with St Mirren; he played in a British Championship fixture against England at Hampden Park on 2 April 1927, watched by a crowd of 111,214. Scotland lost the match 2–1. He was also a member of a Scottish Football Association squad which toured North America in the summer of that year, but the dozen matches he took part in did not include any official internationals.
References
External links Profile at the Liverpool F.C. website