The FA owes its existence to Ebenezer Cobb Morley.
Widely recognised as the founding father of The Football Association, Morley drafted the thirteen original laws of the game at his home in Barnes in southwest London, which were set down and agreed at a meeting at the Freemason’s Tavern in London on 26 October 1863.
These were the fountainhead of the game of football as it is played today by over 250 million people the world over.
Morley was the first Honorary Secretary of The FA, a post he held until 1866, becoming its second President, 1867-1874. In 1872, Morley presented the first ever FA Cup, which continues today as the world’s oldest cup competition.
Alongside football, Morley was a solicitor by profession, and a Justice of the Peace. He was a keen huntsman and oarsman, and was Honorary Secretary of the Barnes and Mortlake Amateur Regatta from 1862-70. He had a gym built for footballers and rowers, becoming known as the ‘Grand Old Sportsman of Barnes’.
Ebenezer Cobb Morley died age 93 on 20 November 1924 and was buried alongside his wife Frances in Barnes.
