Greenock Morton F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Greenock Morton

Full name	Greenock Morton Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Ton
Founded	1874; 151 years ago (1874) (as Morton F.C.)
Ground	Cappielow Park
Ground Capacity	11,589 (5,741 seated)
Owner	Morton Club Together (MCT)
Chairman	John Laird
Manager	Dougie Imrie
League	Scottish Championship
2015–16	Scottish Championship, 5th
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Greenock Morton Football Club is a professional football team from Scotland. They play in the Scottish Championship. The club started in 1874 as Morton Football Club, making it one of Scotland's oldest teams. In 1994, they changed their name to Greenock Morton. This was to celebrate their strong connection to their home town of Greenock.

Morton won the Scottish Cup in 1922. Their best league finish was in 1916–17, when they came in second place behind Celtic. Morton holds a record for being promoted to and relegated from the top league the most times (10 promotions and 10 relegations). However, they haven't played in the top league since 1988. In 2015, Morton won their tenth league title by winning the Scottish League One championship.

History

How it Started: The 1800s

Morton Football Club was formed in 1874. Football was becoming very popular in Scotland back then. Many new clubs were starting up. The first words recorded at the club's meeting were, "that this club be called Morton Football Club."

Nobody is completely sure why they chose the name 'Morton'. Most people think it was named after 'Morton Terrace'. This was a row of houses next to the first playing field. Some of the players lived there. In 1994, the name changed to 'Greenock Morton Football Club'. This was to show their link to their home town. But most people still call them 'Morton'.

Morton was one of the first teams in the old Second Division. This league started in 1893. They finished 8th in their first season. Morton first moved up to the old First Division in 1899–1900. They finished 4th in their first season there.

Big Moments: The 1900s

Morton's greatest success was winning the 1922 Scottish Cup Final. They beat Rangers 1–0. Jimmy Gourlay scored the winning goal from a free kick. After the match, the team went to play another game. So, their big celebration was held a few days later. About 10,000 local fans came to Cappielow Park to celebrate.

Morton played in two other major cup finals. On April 17, 1948, Morton tied 1–1 with Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final. Jimmy White scored Morton's goal. The game was replayed a few days later. Rangers won 1–0 after extra time. Some people said the winning goal was unfair. They claimed Morton's goalkeeper, Jimmy Cowan, was blinded by a camera flash.

These games were special because so many people watched them. The first match had 132,629 fans. The replay had 133,750 fans. This was a British record for a midweek game at the time.

Morton's third big cup final was in the Scottish League Cup in 1963. Again, they played against Rangers. Rangers won 5–0 in front of 106,000 fans.

During World War II, some famous players played for Morton as 'guests'. Sir Stanley Matthews and Tommy Lawton, two of England's best players, played several games for Morton. When Morton reached the 1948 Scottish Cup Final, both players sent good luck messages.

Morton has played in a European competition once. They finished 6th in Scotland's top league in 1967–68. This meant they qualified for the European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. They played against Chelsea. Morton lost both games and were knocked out.

In 1992–93, Morton lost 3–2 to Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Challenge Cup Final. The game was played at Love Street. This is the home of Morton's rivals, St Mirren.

The New Century: The 2000s

In the early 2000s, the team had money problems. They were moved down from the First Division in 2001. The club continued to struggle financially. In 2002–03, Morton played in the Third Division for the first time. The club's money issues were fixed when chairman Douglas Rae took over.

The team won the Third Division championship that season. They secured their win with a 1–0 victory over Peterhead. A record 8,497 fans watched this game.

After a good start in 2003–04, the team's performance dropped. They finished 4th, missing out on promotion. This led to some rumors about players betting on other teams.

Jim McInally became the new manager. In his first season, the club missed promotion by just one point. They finished 3rd, behind Stranraer.

Morton did not get promoted in the 2005–06 season. They finished 2nd, but only the champions were promoted automatically. Morton played in the playoffs but lost to Peterhead.

The next season, Morton beat Forfar Athletic 9–1 at home. A week later, they were promoted to the First Division. They then became Second Division Champions.

Jim McInally resigned in 2008. Davie Irons took over. Morton avoided being relegated on the last day of the season. Irons was fired in 2009. James Grady replaced him. Grady left in 2010, and Allan Moore became manager. Allan Moore was fired in 2013. Kenny Shiels took over but could not stop the team from being relegated in 2014. Shiels resigned after a big 10–2 loss to Hamilton Accies.

After Shiels left, Jim Duffy became manager. He won the Scottish League One title. This brought the club back to the Championship right away. This was Morton's tenth league title. It made them the joint third most successful club in Scotland for league wins. Duffy was fired in 2018. This was after the club finished 7th. Chairman Douglas Rae retired after 17 years. His son Crawford took over.

Ray McKinnon became manager in May 2018. But he left after only three months. Jonatan Johansson then became manager.

Colours

The team's home uniform is usually a blue and white striped shirt. They wear white shorts and white socks. In the 2006–07 season, they wore a blue and white striped shirt with white shorts and blue socks. Over the years, they have used some unique designs. These include sky blue and white stripes, like the Argentina team. They even had a blue Morton tartan design once.

The away uniform changes more often. For the 2003–04 season, it was all yellow. In 2004–05, it was all white. This white kit then became the third kit in 2005–06. They also brought back the blue Morton tartan kit.

For the 2021–22 season, the club wore a special 'throwback' home kit. It looked like the one they wore when they won the 1922 Scottish Cup Final. This kit had no sponsor.

Stadium

Morton's home stadium is Cappielow Park in Greenock. The club has played there since 1879. The stadium can hold 5,741 seated fans. In 2008, Morton bought the east stand from their rivals, St Mirren. This was to make the away section better.

The area behind the western goal is called the Wee Dublin End. It has bench seating. The main stand has plastic seats. The "Cowshed" is on the north side of the pitch. It used to be for both home and away fans. Now, it's only for home supporters. The "Sinclair Street" end is behind the eastern goal. It has uncovered standing areas.

Supporters and Rivalries

Greenock Morton has many fan clubs. These clubs are based in Greenock and nearby towns. Some of the main clubs are The Andy Ritchie Travel Club and The Prince of Wales Travel Club.

The club has a strong rivalry with their neighbors, St Mirren. This is called the Renfrewshire derby. There is a lot of excitement between the two sets of fans during these games.

Morton also has a smaller rivalry with Partick Thistle.

The club has friendly relationships with Reggiana and PEC Zwolle.

League Participation

• First Tier: 1900–1927, 1929–1933, 1937–1938, 1946–1949, 1950–1952, 1964–1966, 1967–1975, 1978–1983, 1984–1985, 1987–1988
• Second Tier: 1893–1900, 1927–1929, 1933–1937, 1938–39, 1949–1950, 1952–1964, 1966–1967, 1975–1978, 1983–1984, 1985–1987, 1988–1994, 1995–2001, 2007–2014, 2015–present
• Third Tier: 1994–1995, 2001–2002, 2003–2007, 2014–2015
• Fourth Tier: 2002–2003

Honours

National Honours

• Scottish Cup
  • Winners: 1921–22
  • Runners-up: 1947–48
• Scottish League Cup
  • Runners-up: 1963–64
• Scottish Challenge Cup
  • Runners-up: 1992
• Scottish Football League
  • Runners-up: 1916–17²
• Scottish First Division/Division Two
  • Champions: (6) 1949–50¹, 1963–64¹, 1966–67¹, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1986–1987
  • Runners-up: (4) 1899–1900¹, 1928–29¹, 1936–37¹, 2012–13
• Scottish Second Division/League One
  • Champions: (3) 1994–95, 2006–07, 2014–15³
  • Runners-up: 2005–06
• Scottish Third Division
  • Champions: 2002–03

Minor Honours

• Renfrewshire Cup
  • Winners: 52 times
  • Runners-up: 42 times
• Great War Shield
  • Winners: 1914–15
  • Runners-up: 1917–18
• Southern Football League
  • Runners-up: 1942-43
• Southern League Cup
  • Runners-up: 1941–42
• SFL Reserve League South
  • Runners-up: 2012–13
• SPFL Development League West
  • Champions: 2015–16, 2017-18
  • Runners-up: 2016–17
• Club Academy Scotland U16/17 South/West League
  • Champions: 2014–15
  • Runners-up: 2015–16

¹ Known as Division II at the time
² Known as Division I at the time
³ Known as SPFL League One at the time

Records

• Best league position – 2nd in First Division (Old) (1916–1917)
• Best Scottish Cup performance – winners (1921–1922)
• Best League Cup performance – runners-up (1963–1964)
• Best Challenge Cup performance – runners-up (1992–1993)
• Biggest Victory – 21–0 v Howwood (1886–87 Renfrewshire Cup)
• Biggest Defeat – 1–10 v Port Glasgow Athletic (5 May 1894), St Bernard's (14 October 1933)
• Highest Home Attendance – 23,500 v Celtic (1922)
• Most Goals in One Season – Allan McGraw (58 in 1963–1964)
• Most League Appearances – Derek Collins (534)
• Most League Goals – Allan McGraw (117)
• Record Player Bought – Janne Lindberg – £250k (including Marko Rajamäki) from MyPa-47
• Record Player Sold – Derek Lilley – £500k to Leeds United

Players

Current Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Ryan Mullen 2 DF Cammy Ballantyne 3 DF Zak Delaney 4 DF Dylan Corr 5 DF Jack Baird 6 DF Morgan Boyes 7 FW Owen Moffat 8 MF Cameron Blues 9 FW Filip Stuparević (on loan from Motherwell) 10 FW Jordan Davies 11 FW Lamar Reynolds 14 MF Ali Crawford

No. Position Player 15 DF Kirk Broadfoot 17 MF Arron Lyall 18 MF Michael Garrity 20 FW Niall McGinn (on loan from Glentoran) 21 MF Grant Gillespie (captain) 22 MF Nathan Shaw 24 FW Austin Samuels 25 MF Alex King 27 MF Iain Wilson 31 FW Logan O'Boy 33 GK Gary Woods 41 GK Sam Murdoch

Coaching Staff

Player Records

All statistics are for league matches after World War II.

Top Goalscorers

#	Name	Period at club	Apps	Goals
1	Allan McGraw	1961–1966	136	117
2	Andy Ritchie	1976–1983	213	100
3	Rowan Alexander	1986–1995	310	98
4	Peter Weatherson	2003–2013	323	93
5	Tommy Orr	1946–1958	257	86
6	Eddie Beaton	1956–1960	110	83
	Derek Lilley	1991–1997 2005–2007	232	83
8	Joe Mason	1966–1973	186	76
9	Alec Linwood	1951–1955	101	72
10	John McNeil	1975–1991	328	67

Most Appearances

#	Name	Period at club	Apps
1	Derek Collins	1987–1999 2001–2005	534
2	David Wylie	1985–1999	482
3	Jim Holmes	1976–1988	437
4	Davie Hayes	1970–1984	353
5	John McNeil	1975–1991	328
6	Peter Weatherson	2003–2013	323
7	Jim McAlister	2002–2010 2018–2021	312
8	Rowan Alexander	1986–1995	310
9	George Anderson	1969–1981 1985–1987	280
10	Roy Baines	1972–1977 1978–1983	271
	Chris Millar	2003–2008 2018–2021	271

National Individual Honours

• 2016–17 – Jim Duffy (Ladbrokes Championship Manager of the Season)
• 2014–15 – Declan McManus (SPFL League One Player of the Year)
• 2002–03 – Alex Williams (SPFA Third Division Player of the Year)
• 1994–95 – Derek McInnes (SPFA Second Division Player of the Year)
• 1994–95 – Allan McGraw (SPFA Second Division Manager of the Year)
• 1986–87 – Jim Holmes (SPFA First Division Player of the Year)
• 1984–85 – Jim Duffy (SPFA Players' Player of the Year)
• 1978–79 – Andy Ritchie (SFWA Footballer of the Year)

Recent International Players

The last player to get a full international cap while playing for Morton was Fouad Bachirou. He played for Comoros in 2014.

The last Morton player to play for Scotland's national team was Jai Quitongo. He played for the under-21 side in 2016.

Notable Players

Players are included in this list if they meet one of these rules:

• Played over 100 league games for Morton.
• Scored in a national cup final.
• Managed the club after playing for them.
• Were from a country outside the British Isles.
• Won full international honours (played for their country's main team).

Scottish Football Hall of Fame

Some former Morton players have been added to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. These are:

• Joe Jordan (2005)
• Jimmy Cowan (2007)

For all Greenock Morton players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Greenock Morton F.C. players.

Board of Directors

Name	Role
John Laird	Chairman
Graham Barr	Director
Ross Gourdie	Director
Sam Robinson	Director
Michael Harkins	Finance director
Dale Pryde-MacDonald	General manager

Managers

This list does not include temporary managers.

Scottish Cup Record

Morton first played in the Scottish Cup in the 1877–78 season. They won it once in 1922. The competition has changed its rules and number of rounds seven times over the years.

Morton has reached these stages in the Scottish Cup:

• Finals – 2 times (last in 1948)
• Semi-finals – 5 times (last in 1981)
• Quarter-finals – 16 times (last in 2024)

European Record

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1968–69	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	First round	Chelsea	3–4	0–5	3–9

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See also

In Spanish: Greenock Morton Football Club para niños