Stanley Harding Mortensen (1921 - 1991)

Born 26 May 1921 in South Shields, Durham, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Jean (Galloway) Mortensen — married after Sep 1943 (to 1991) in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Died 22 May 1991 at age 69 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Stan Mortensen is Notable.

Wikidata: Item Q783688, en:Wikipedia - English footballer, Wembley hat-trick hero

Stan was born in 1921 in South Shields, County Durham, England. He was the son of Christopher Mortensen and Sarah Baker.^[1] His grandfather Andreas had been a Norwegian sailor, whose own father was named Morten Olsen, and took the surname Mortensen in accordance with Scandinavian naming traditions at the time.

He was a keen footballer and was coached by his cousin Freddie Colthorpe.^[2] After leaving school at fourteen he worked in a timber yard for three years before joining Blackpool United Football Club as an inside-right in 1938, after impressing club scouts in a junior match.

In 1941 he joined the Royal Air Force as a wireless operator, and survived a Wellington Bomber crash near Lossiemouth that cost two crewmates their lives and a third his leg.

While the league competitions were suspended because of the war, he made friendly appearances for Aberdeen (while stationed at RAF Lossiemouth) and Arsenal as well as playing in wartime competitions for Blackpool. He even turned out for Wales, having been selected as a reserve for England but called on to switch teams when a Welsh player, Ivor Powell was injured.

On 2 November 1943 in Blackpool he married office clerk Jean Galloway, daughter of William Galloway, plasterer.^[3] They had met on Stan's first day as a Blackpool footballer. They did not have any children.^[4]

After the war he scored 197 goals in 317 games for Blackpool. He holds records for scoring in consecutive league games (15), consecutive rounds of the FA Cup (12), he was the first player to score in every round of the FA Cup including the Final. Having lost the Finals in 1948 and 1951, he famously became the first player to score a Wembley FA Cup Final hat-trick in 1953, winning the trophy, although ironically the game would be remembered more for his teammate Stanley Matthews' contribution.^[5]

He was the first England player to score in a World Cup qualifying campaign and in a World Cup finals tournament (in Brazil, 1950). His final game for England in 1953 was the famous 6-3 defeat at Wembley by Hungary, the first team from outside the UK to win there.

He left Blackpool in 1955 later playing for Hull City and Southport before announcing his retirement as a professional in 1958 (he continued playing non-league football).

in 1962 he fully retired from all football to run a betting shop and a sports outfitter's in Blackpool, where he also served as a Conservative councillor. He was manager of Blackpool FC from 1967-69, returning to his businesses after being sacked. He also did a lot of charity work and was honoured with the Freedom of the Town of Blackpool in 1990.

He passed away at the Victoria Hospital in Blackpool in 1991 and was cremated at Carleton Cemetery and Crematorium, Blackpool.

Find A Grave: Memorial #178311400

In 2005 a statue of him (and teammate Jimmy Armfield) was unveiled outside Blackpool's ground, Bloomfield Road.

His widow passed away in 2009.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Registration: "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008"
   citing Birth Registration, South Shields, Durham, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
   FamilySearch Record: QV3W-1HVZ (accessed 27 July 2023)
   Stanley H Mortensen birth registered Jul-Aug-Sep 1921 in South Shields.
2. ↑ https://spartacus-educational.com/BLACKPmortensen.htm
3. ↑ Marriage Registration: "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005"
   citing 1943, quarter 4, vol. 8E, p. 1049, Blackpool, Lancashire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
   FamilySearch Record: QV8T-D6WM (accessed 27 July 2023)
   Stanley H Mortensen marriage to Jean Galloway registered Oct-Nov-Dec 1943 in Blackpool.
4. ↑ https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/people/100-years-today-blackpools-fa-cup-legend-morty-was-born-3249992
5. ↑ During and immediately after the game, one of the goals subsequently credited to Mortensen was thought to have been an own goal, which may be why his achievement was overlooked.

• Familysearch: Stanley Harding Mortensen
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry
• S. Mortensen, Football is my game (1949)