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Ebenezer Cobb Morley
Ebenezer Cobb Morley (16 August 1831 – 20 November 1924) was an English sportsman. He is regarded as one of the fathers of the Football Association (FA) and modern football.
Morley was born at 10 Garden Square, Princess Street in Hull to the Reverend Ebenezer Morley, a nonconformist minister, and his wife Hannah (née Cobb). He lived in the city until he was 22.
Morley qualified as a lawyer in 1854. In 1858 he moved to the London suburb of Barnes to practise as a solicitor in the capital.
Morley founded Barnes Football Club in 1862, and served as its captain until 1867.
The Barnes club played its first recorded game, a 2–0 victory, against Richmond F.C., on 29 November 1862. A match the following month against Blackheath FC went less happily: the Blackheath club played a rugby-style game, necessitating the adoption of compromise rules. "Very weak" play by Barnes resulted in a loss by two goals to nothing, with Morley narrowly escaping being "garrotted".
In 1863, Morley wrote to Bell's Life newspaper proposing a governing body for the sport, with the power to set common rules. This led to the first meeting of the FA at Freemasons' Tavern, on 26 October 1863. At this meeting, Morley was elected the first secretary of the association.
At this time, some football clubs followed the example of Rugby School by allowing the ball to be carried in the hands, with players allowed to "hack" (kick in the shins) opponents who were carrying the ball. Other clubs forbade both practices. During the meetings to draw up the FA laws, there was an acrimonious division between the "hacking" and "non-hacking" clubs. An FA meeting of 17 November 1863 discussed this question, with the "hacking" clubs predominating. A further meeting was scheduled in order to finalise ("settle") the laws, based on the draft created by Morley in his role as secretary.
At this crucial 24 November meeting, the "hackers" were again in a narrow majority. During the meeting, however, Morley brought the delegates' attention to a recently published set of football laws from Cambridge University which banned carrying and hacking. Discussion of the Cambridge rules, and suggestions for possible communication with Cambridge on the subject, served to delay the final "settlement" of the laws to a further meeting, on 1 December. A number of representatives who supported rugby-style football did not attend this additional meeting, resulting in hacking and carrying being banned in the laws that were published later that month.
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Ebenezer Cobb Morley
Ebenezer Cobb Morley (16 August 1831 – 20 November 1924) was an English sportsman. He is regarded as one of the fathers of the Football Association (FA) and modern football.
Morley was born at 10 Garden Square, Princess Street in Hull to the Reverend Ebenezer Morley, a nonconformist minister, and his wife Hannah (née Cobb). He lived in the city until he was 22.
Morley qualified as a lawyer in 1854. In 1858 he moved to the London suburb of Barnes to practise as a solicitor in the capital.
Morley founded Barnes Football Club in 1862, and served as its captain until 1867.
The Barnes club played its first recorded game, a 2–0 victory, against Richmond F.C., on 29 November 1862. A match the following month against Blackheath FC went less happily: the Blackheath club played a rugby-style game, necessitating the adoption of compromise rules. "Very weak" play by Barnes resulted in a loss by two goals to nothing, with Morley narrowly escaping being "garrotted".
In 1863, Morley wrote to Bell's Life newspaper proposing a governing body for the sport, with the power to set common rules. This led to the first meeting of the FA at Freemasons' Tavern, on 26 October 1863. At this meeting, Morley was elected the first secretary of the association.
At this time, some football clubs followed the example of Rugby School by allowing the ball to be carried in the hands, with players allowed to "hack" (kick in the shins) opponents who were carrying the ball. Other clubs forbade both practices. During the meetings to draw up the FA laws, there was an acrimonious division between the "hacking" and "non-hacking" clubs. An FA meeting of 17 November 1863 discussed this question, with the "hacking" clubs predominating. A further meeting was scheduled in order to finalise ("settle") the laws, based on the draft created by Morley in his role as secretary.
At this crucial 24 November meeting, the "hackers" were again in a narrow majority. During the meeting, however, Morley brought the delegates' attention to a recently published set of football laws from Cambridge University which banned carrying and hacking. Discussion of the Cambridge rules, and suggestions for possible communication with Cambridge on the subject, served to delay the final "settlement" of the laws to a further meeting, on 1 December. A number of representatives who supported rugby-style football did not attend this additional meeting, resulting in hacking and carrying being banned in the laws that were published later that month.
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