David Morris (Scottish footballer)

David Morris
Personal information
Full name David Main Liston Morris
Date of birth 1897
Place of birth Leith, Scotland
Date of death 1971 (aged 73–74)[1]
Place of death Edinburgh, Scotland
Position(s) Centre half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Arniston Rangers
Newtongrange Star  
1920–1925 Raith Rovers  184 (6)
1925–1929 Preston North End  146 (7)
1929–1931 Chester City  
1931–1933 Dundee United  12 (0)
Leith Athletic  
International career
1923–1925[2] Scotland 6 (1)
1925[3] Scottish League XI 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

David Main Liston Morris (1897 – 1971) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre half for Newtongrange Star, Arniston Rangers, Raith Rovers, Preston North End, Chester City, Dundee United and Scotland national team.

After moving from the junior level where he had combined football with work as a shipbuilder in his native Leith,[4] Morris helped Raith Rovers achieve their best-ever Scottish Football League finishes of third in 1921–22 then fourth in 1923–24 before going south to Preston in December 1925, a few months after Alex James made the same move. However, the pair (and several other Scots in the squad) were unable to achieve promotion from the English second division and both departed from Deepdale in 1929.[5] After two years with Chester, he returned to Scotland with Dundee United in 1931.[6][7]

Morris received all six of his caps for Scotland (and one for the Scottish Football League XI) while with Raith Rovers. He is the only serving player from the Kirkcaldy club to have been international captain and appeared for his country six times in total, finishing on the winning side five times with the other match drawn.[8][1][9][10]

  1. ^ a b John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ "[Scotland player] David Morris". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  3. ^ "SFL player David Morris". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. ^ How a Leith shipbuilder became Scottish football's first shipwrecked captain, Edinburgh Live, 1 May 2020
  5. ^ David Morris, DT92
  6. ^ Morris David Image 1 Raith Rovers 1922, Vintage Footballers
  7. ^ David Morris, Spartacus Educational
  8. ^ (Smith 2013, p. 221)
  9. ^ Hall of Fame for Raith Rovers legend who captained Scotland, Fife Today, 25 July 2019
  10. ^ Appeal to find family of Scottish football legend ahead of Hall of Fame induction, Edinburgh Evening News, 26 July 2019