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”...