Ebenezer Cobb Morley

Plaque at Hull History Centre, Worship Street, HU2 8BG. Grid D1
also Ebenezer Morley public house, 12-14 Anlaby Road, HU1 2PA. Grid B3

Ebenezer Cobb Morley was born in Hull in 1831. His family moved to the London area in the 1850s, and Ebenezer qualified as a solicitor in 1854. He played football for his local team (Barnes) and in 1863, wrote to Bell’s Life newspaper, proposing a governing body for the sport. This led to a meeting of club representatives on 26 October, at which the Football Association was formed. Ebenezer then became the first person to write down the laws of football, drafting them at home. He was also the first Honorary Secretary of the Football Association, from 1863-1866, and he scored the first goal in the first representative match between London and Sheffield, on 31 March 1866. Ebenezer eventually became a Justice of the Peace and a Surrey County Councillor. He died in 1924.