Morris Grenville Image 3 Nottingham Forest 1907

Description

Builth Wells, Powys born inside left Grenville Morris began his football career with Builth Town in 1892, playing for Green United the same year, and Aberystwyth in 1893 from where he joined Southern League Swindon Town in 1896. He soon became a regular goalscorer for Swindon, bagging 24 goals in 34 games before he was transferred to First Division Nottingham Forest in November 1898 for £200. By then he had already won his first full international Welsh cap at the age of 18 in February 1896 against Ireland, and went on to play 21 times for his country, scoring 9 goals, through to March 1912 when he played for the final time against England.

He made his Football League debut at Bury in December 1898 and would go on to play 15 seasons at The City Ground, in so doing he became one of the greatest players of his generation and was known as “The Prince of the Inside-Lefts”. He still holds Forest’s all-time goal scoring record with 217 in all competitions in 459 appearances.  He scored 3 goals in Forest’s run to the 1900 FA Cup semi final, but they were beaten by eventual winners Bury in a replay at Bramall Lane. When Forest were relegated from the First Division in 1906, he scored 21 goals in the following campaign to help them win the Second Division Championship for an immediate return to the top flight. He was also Nottingham Forest’s club captain for many years. When he retired in 1913 he did so one short of 200 League goals, accumulated consistently throughout his career, his 26 goals in 1902-03 being his best return in any one season.