BIO
William Morgan was a workmanlike follower for Norwood in four early premiership years, but left no record of his personal life.
He first appeared in a pre-season colour match on 10 April 1880. The South Australian Register reported that there were not enough players for a proper game because too many senior men were still engaged in cricket. William Morgan and Joe Pollock each picked sides of about 13 players. William was one of his team’s best players as two of his men, McMichael and Bracken, kicked the only goals of the day.
William was a member of the Norwood squad which visited Victoria later that year. The Geelong Advertiser described him thus: “Morgan, W. Follower; not showy, does a lot of work, and very fond of it.”
Norwood met Melbourne at the MCG on 1 July 1880 after the game was almost called off because of the extremely muddy conditions. The Australasian newspaper reported that “the turf was utterly unfit for football of any description”. Several Melbourne men pulled out but Norwood was keen to play. The umpire “entered the field clothed in white raiment, but came out of it very patchy indeed”. Norwood won 2.8 to 0.5 and so became the first South Australian club to beat a team from the Victorian Football Association. Better players were Pollock, McMichael, Morgan, Waldron and Traynor.
William again went to Victoria with the Norwood mid-season touring party in 1882. Matches were played against Ballarat, Carlton, Sandhurst, South Melbourne and Melbourne, which this time hammered the visitors 8.8 to 1.4.
In a battle of the premiers on 23 June 1883, Norwood met Essendon on a sodden Kensington Oval before some 4,000 spectators, many equipped with umbrellas. Essendon was a firm favorite, having beaten Port Adelaide, a combined junior team and South Adelaide while on tour. The South Australian Advertiser said the visitors were lighter and looked fitter. “Several of the Norwood heavyweights appeared to be carrying too much flesh; and others presented raw, loose appearances,” it said. With Paddy Roachock showing the way, however, Norwood put in a full team effort for a famous 5.3 to 1.6 victory. William Morgan was favorably mentioned for sending Norwood forward, once after taking a mark at centre.
William returned to obscurity in 1884 when Norwood’s streak of six premierships came to an end. We have no evidence that he was linked to the Morgan who played for the Carlton Second Twenty in 1879 or the R. Morgan who appears in a suit in the Carlton Football Club team photo for a match against Adelaide in 1884 and played a senior game for Carlton in each of 1889 and 1892.
P. Robins, R Cialini, D. Cox March 2026