Ray Morgan
Ray
Morgan

Born
01 January 1922
Date of passing
12 June 1977 (Age 55)
Birthplace
Manila, PHI
Height
188 cm
Where they grew up
ENG

Bio

Ray Morgan

Ray Morgan... he was 25 years old when he emigrated to Canada in 1947... he was 55 years old when he passed away in Toronto on 12 June 1977 (he had begun a fight with cancer in October 1974)... served in the Royal Air Force... received the Distinguished Flying Medal in 1944... he was 25 years old when he started refereeing in 1947 in Hampshire, England... worked as an auditor in Toronto...

honoured as a Canada Soccer Life Member... posthumously honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a referee... posthumously named in his honour, Canada Soccer’s Ray Morgan Memorial Award is “presented to the referee who has shown the greatest progress at the national and international levels” (first presented to Werner Winsemann in 1980)... posthumously named in his honour, Ontario Soccer’s Ray Morgan Trophy was awarded to the winning team in the provincial playdowns for Canada Soccer’s National Championship (first presented to Toronto Hakoah in 1977)...

said Morgan, “refereeing is my hobby. I agree it’s a thankless task an, if you’ve done a good job, no one realizes you were even on the field. The reward is in the satisfaction of knowing you’ve done something well. Regardless of the crowd reaction, the referee himself knows whether he’s been sharp or not”... wrote Morgan in 1970, “the primary function of a referee is to cause the game to progress within the spirit of the laws of the game with as little interference as possible on his part, thus enabling two teams of players and spectators to enjoy the game”...

wrote Ed Waring in 1962, “because (Morgan) rules firmly by the book, Canadian fans have taken a dislike to him, hence the catcalls when he officiates in the National and Eastern Canada Professional leagues”... wrote Eric King in 1974, Morgan’s “contributions to the development and improvement of our referees and refereeing standards has been nothing less than outstanding”... wrote Stan Adamson in 1977, Morgan was “by far the most honoured and best known soccer referee in Canadian soccer history”...

For Sport

served on the FIFA List of Referees and Assistant Referees for 13 years (1955 to 1967), including one FIFA World Cup (1962) and one Olympic Games (1962)... over the course of his career as a Referee and Assistant Referee, he was appointed to matches in leagues including the National League of Ontario and Québec and the Eastern Canada Professional League... was appointed as a Referee to Canada Soccer’s Championship matches as well as exhibition matches featuring touring European clubs to Canada...

was appointed a referee at the Pan American Games Mexico 1955... was appointed a referee at the Pan American Games Chicago 1959... was appointed a referee to the Roma 1960 Olympic Football Tournament (he was in charge of one match)... was a linesman for three games in the FIFA World Cup Chile 1962 (he was not selected to referee)... was appointed referee for the Pan American Games Winnipeg 1967 football final (Mexico won 4:1 a.e.t. over Bermuda on 3 August)...

was appointed as Referee to Canada Soccer’s 1948 Championship Final in Toronto on 9 August 1948 (the second of three matches in the series)... was appointed as Referee to Canada Soccer’s 1955 Championship Final in Toronto on 18 September 1955 (the first of three matches in the series)...

was appointed as Referee for the 1961 Eastern Canada Professional League playoff final in Toronto on 9 October 1961 (President’s Cup winners Montréal Cantalia FC won the best-of-three series)… was appointed as Referee for the 1962 Eastern Canada Professional League Final in Toronto on 15 August 1962 (the second of three matches)... was appointed as Referee for the 1963 Eastern Canada Professional League playoff final in Toronto on 18 September 1963 (President’s Cup winners Toronto Italia FC won the best-of-three series)... was appointed as Referee for the 1964 Eastern Canada Professional League playoff final on 9 September 1964 (the first of two matches)... was appointed as Referee for the 1964 Eastern Canada Professional League playoff final on 22 September 1965 (President’s Cup winners Toronto Italia Falcons won the best-of-three series)...

co-founded the Toronto & District Society of Soccer Referees in 1951 (both Ray Morgan and Harry Sadler were part of the original committee)... served as Ontario Soccer’s Chief Referee from 1960 to 1965... served as Chairman of Canada Soccer’s Referees’ Development Committee from 1965 to 1968... was appointed to the FIFA Panel of Referee Lecturers in 1968...

elected Honorary Life Member of the Ontario Soccer Referees’ Association in 1968... was the first Canadian to receive the FIFA Special Award to Referees (1971)... served on the National Organising Committee for the 1974 CONCACAF Juvenile Tournament...

Individual Honours