Sam Morris | |||||||
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OVERALL STATISTICS | |||||||
| BIRTH | AGE | SIGNED ON | FROM | ||||
| DEBUT | LAST MATCH | LEFT | |||||
| CAREER | APPEARANCES (SUBS) | ||||||
| TRIES | GOALS | DGOALS | PTS | ||||
Biography of Sam Morris |
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 HERITAGE NO : Sam Morris WIDNES STALWART AND CLASS ATHLETE We know about Sam thanks to the excellent research and record keeping by Steve Fox, the eminent Widnes RL historian. Sam Morris was born in Shropshire but his family moved to Widnes, doubtless in search of regular employment. His father, was a general labourer from Wroxeter. His father probably moved from the farms of Shropshire to the hard graft in the Widnesian factories. The family were living in Birchfield Road Widnes by 1881. He made his debut on the 12th of November 1887 against our friends and rivals the Kendal Hornets. Unfortunately the men from Westmorland were too strong for the Saints on the day. Morris played for the Saints a total of seven times. Those matches ended in three wins and four losses for St. Helens. His final match was one of those defeats as a strong Tyldesley team defeated the Saints on the 10th of March 1888. That game was played at Well Street, Tyldesley. After his sporting days were behind him he moved to Trafford Park near Stretford where he was employed as a fitter of steam pipes for Westinghouse. He had married Mary Ann Draper in 1894 and they had two children. In 1911 the family were living at 405 Fourth Street, Trafford Park. Sam died in Stratford on the 30th of September, 1936 at the age of 73. The obituary supplied by the aforementioned Steve Fox provides a fuller biography. "The death occurred at Stratford hospital of the old Widnes athlete and footballer, Sam Morris. Mr Morris gained prominence as a full back or centre three-quarter of the Widnes Club, his deadly accurate kicking being a notable feature of his play.It was a runner also that Mr. Morris gained an almost world-wide reputation, following his defeat of Geoffrey Shaw another noted athlete in 1889. He was responsible for the defeat of King, the Oxford University `crack` and was unbeatable at his own distances 220 yards, quarter mile, flat or hurdles. He also met Myers, the yankee athlete, defeating him then losing to him at Farnworth. By his death which occurred somewhat suddenly, Widnes loses one of its last two senior players, the Club president Alderman JH Smith being a contemporary of Mr. Morris. |
| Date | Match | Pos | Opponents | Comp | Venue | FT | FTO | T | G | DG | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12th Nov 1887 | 1 | L |
4 | Kendal Hornets* | FR | H | 0 | 7 | VIEW | |||
| 19th Nov 1887 | 2 | L |
3 | Mossley* | FR | A | 1 | 3 | 1 | VIEW | ||
| 26th Nov 1887 | 3 | W |
4 | Tyldesley* | FR | H | 3 | 1 | VIEW | |||
| 7th Jan 1888 | 4 | W |
3 | Bury* | FR | H | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | VIEW | |
| 11th Feb 1888 | 5 | L |
2 | Radcliffe* | FR | A | 0 | 6 | VIEW | |||
| 3rd Mar 1888 | 6 | W |
3 | Blackrod* | WLC | A | 5 | 0 | VIEW | |||
| 10th Mar 1888 | 7 | L |
2 | Tyldesley* | WLC | A | 0 | 3 | VIEW |
| *Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub. |
| WINS : 3 | LOSSES : 4 | DRAWS : |
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